What Happened Between
by musicchica10
Summary: Ziva was captured at the end of Season 6, what happened to her? What did she think? What were the other agents thinking? And when Season 7 comes around, her night in shining armor comes and saves her.
1. May Ziva

**This is my first attempt at an NCIS fanfic. It's going to be from the end of season 6 to the beginning of season 7. It will be about the thoughts that went through each agent's head and what we missed out during the break between seasons for Ziva. Thanks!**

**I do not own NCIS...although I wish I did! haha...

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May

Betrayal. One word that kept creeping through her mind as she sat tied to a chair. She was betrayed by the people closest to her; the people that she supposedly felt safe with. Her own family had even betrayed her. She wondered if they were even searching for her, or if Eli even cared that she was MIA.

She sighed and hung her head. Flashes of Gibbs kissing her on the cheek popped into her mind.

"_Take care of yourself." Gibbs had said as he walked away from her, leaving her shocked and hurt._

She held back tears as she thought about the way she felt when Gibbs, the closest thing she had to a real, loving father, had just abandoned her and left her in Tel Aviv. It was as if he had picked Tony over her.

Tony.

Images of Tony lying and the floor and Michael gasping for air next to him zoomed around in her head. Tony was immature and stupid. Going to her apartment, without back up, and killing Michael, and just because he was jealous. JEALOUS! He had no right to be in her apartment in the first place. And he was double parked!

Ziva scowled at the thought of Tony. He betrayed her too. He was her partner. They were supposed to support each other and have each other's backs. Instead Tony betrayed that trust. She sighed and looked around. She knew that she should never have allowed herself to trust anyone. Trust is overrated and sometimes you just have to look out for yourself.

But what about McGee and Abby? And Ducky? They hadn't betrayed her. They were her friends. She felt bad that she had left them and not said goodbye. And now she may never see them again. She had no way of communicating to them and letting them know that she was ok, which by the way, she wasn't.

She began to wonder if her father was even looking for her. Eli. She had taken this job in order to finish what Michael had begun. Unfortunately things took a terrible turn and now she was here, captured and alone. She silently hoped that her father was sending out a search team, but she knew better than to hope for that. When he had a mission he wanted completed, he would do anything and sacrifice anyone in order to get it done. She was alone in this. She had no way of hoping for any good to come out of this.

She heard footsteps and became afraid. Fear had never been something that she experienced often. The last time she remembered feeling afraid was when she almost got shot while she was under cover and she barely dodged the bullet and shot him. The thought sent shivers down her spine. Just then, the door creaked open and four men walked in.

"Tell me, why are you here?" one of the men asked in a heavy accent.

Ziva just looked up at them and glared. The man asking the question got angry and hit her across the face. Blood trickled from her mouth and she felt numb around her eye.

"Now tell me! Why are you here!" Another man asked angrily.

Ziva still refused to say anything and that angered them. All four of them began beating her until she fell off the chair gasping for air. They walked out and mumbled something about the boss coming too speak to her.

Tears were forming in her eyes, but she held them back. She would not let them fall, she had to be strong and survive this. If she could.

She was aching all over and when she moved, she winced. Her face hurt the most. They showed no mercy and made sure she was beaten until it hurt. These men are killers, and they would stop for nothing.

Ziva hung her head. Too tired to try to keep it up anymore. That's when she heard more footsteps. The boss. She froze and swallowed loudly. This would be painful. The door creaked open and the man walked towards her.

He came to a stop in front of her and pulled her necklace off. _No!_ She thought. He looked at the necklace in his hands and reached for her. He pulled on her hair, causing her to gasp and look at him.

"Tell me everything you know…about NCIS." He said.

Ziva's beaten face just stared at him. Gasping for air as the pain coursed through her body.

_So this is it. This is how I'm going to die. Betraying those who betrayed me. No. I cannot do that to them. They may have betrayed me, but I will stay loyal to them. _Ziva thought.

She shook her head, and that was the last thing she remembered before everything turned back.

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**There you have it. My first chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! If I should even continue or not.**


	2. May Gibbs

**Alright, here's chapter 2! Hope you all enjoy! And thanks for all the reviews so far! I am glad you like what I have so far! I'm enjoying writing this, especially getting into the heads of each agent! Anyways, enjoy this chapter! **

**Still don't own NCIS! But I can dream! haha!

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Gibbs couldn't believe what his ears were hearing. Was Ziva really telling him that she didn't trust Tony? That she wanted to leave his team or force Tony off his team? Tony had been with him way longer than Ziva, but he loved Ziva as a daughter. Hearing these words broke his heart, yet he kept a straight face.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"_Take care of yourself."_

He turned and walked onto the plane, not giving Ziva another glance. Leaving her there hurt him more than he could say, but it was something she needed. She needed to realize that she could trust them. Especially Tony. Tony was her partner and he knew him well enough to say that Tony was right about Michael. Whether Ziva wanted to believe it or not was her choice, but she had to realize on her own.

As he walked onto the plane he motioned with his hand for them to close the hatch. Tony watched as he did this and sat up straighter, a worried look on his face.

"_Boss, one short?" Tony asked alarmed._

"_Good to go!" Gibbs gave a thumbs up, ignoring Tony's question._

Tony continued to look at Gibbs, a shocked and disappointed expression on his face. Gibbs tried to ignore the pain he saw in his Senior Agent's eyes, but he felt the same way. She was his Ziver after all, like a daughter to him. He cared about her so much, but his choice caused many people pain.

_This is for the best. It's for her own good, when she can trust us again, I will gladly take her back. _He thought.

As the plane took off, he knew that Ziva would be watching. He silently hoped that she could forgive him for this. And Tony. He would not be able to explain to Tony why he left her back there. He glanced up at Tony briefly and watched as he let his head fall back and stared up at the ceiling. Gibbs sighed and looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with anyone at the moment.

The flight was quiet and long. He could feel the tension and hurt that radiated off of Tony's body. He knew that he would blame him for it.

Their flight arrived back in D.C. many hours later and their trip back to the office was painfully quiet. As much as Gibbs would get annoyed by Tony's witty and sometimes stupid comments, he knew that was part of who he was and the quiet ride only proved how hurt Tony really was.

_Rule number twelve is definitely going to be broken. I'm going to have to make sure Tony understands why I have this rule, and if and when he breaks it, I'm going to have to make a whole new set of rules. _Gibbs sighed.

Upon arriving back at NCIS, Gibbs immediately got into his car and left. He couldn't deal with the conversation that he knew would happen inside. He had to have time to think, and be alone. He drove home faster than was necessary. Grabbing his bag from the passenger seat, he quickly went into the house and into the basement. Grabbing only a shirt and change of pants on the way.

He began sweeping the sawdust away from his previous boat. He decided he would start on a new one. Hoping to clear his head for a short while. That's when he heard footsteps.

"Jethro, forgive the intrusion…how did you possibly manage to…" Ducky trailed off, obviously confused by the disappearance of the boat.

"Aw jeez Duck. You gonna ask me that every time?"

Ducky sighed and walked down the rest of the stairs.

"How was your flight?"

"Wasn't short." Gibbs replied. Ducky sighed again and walked towards Gibbs. He watched as Gibbs took out a bottle of bourbon and emptied a glass full of screws and bolts.

"Yeah I know this decision must not have come easily." Ducky sympathetically replied.

"Wasn't my decision."

"But Tony said…" Ducky's voice was confused.

"Nope. Ziva's. The moment she asked me to choose." Gibbs told him. He knew that Tony would tell everyone, and he didn't really feel like explaining, but it was Ducky, and he knew he should know.

"Ah, so this is not about loyalty. It's about an unreasonable demand."

"She withheld information Duck."

Gibbs reached for his mug and held it up to his lips.

"To protect Rivkin." Ducky reasoned.

Gibbs paused and held the mug in front of him before slowly bringing it to his lips and drinking.

"Someone she obviously cared about. Ziva has always remained an officer of Mossad. I certainly don't envy the position she just found herself in. Considering her less than conspicuous background, it's amazing she ever had your trust." Ducky quietly said.

Gibbs looked at Ducky and knew where this was going. He knew Ducky would want some kind of explanation. It was his way of reading deeper into Gibbs' feelings. Gibbs shook his head softly.

"No, she earned it."

"But you took to Ziva, more quickly than any other agent before her. Timothy, Caitlin, even DiNozzo. I always sensed that there was a strong bond between you two. Something shared perhaps?" Ducky walked around Gibbs and started to think.

Gibbs turned around and looked at his staircase, remembering the time when Ziva killed Ari. She killed him to protect Gibbs. If she hadn't shot Ari, Gibbs would have been dead in his basement. She proved herself to him. She gained his trust.

"No. She proved herself."

"Whatever it was that Ziva did to prove her loyalty, well it was nearly not as momentous as you believed."

These words hurt Gibbs, but he didn't let his emotions show. He was a man of few emotions, at least to others he was. He turned around.

"Or was it?" Ducky questioned.

Gibbs didn't answer, instead he took a sip and sat quietly. Ducky sighed and began walking away.

"I'll see you tomorrow Jethro. Don't kick yourself too much over this." Ducky replied as he walked up the stairs.

Was Ziva's loyalty really genuine, or was it all fake? She could have simply been following orders. Gibbs couldn't let these thoughts invade his mind. He stood up abruptly and began working.

_This is not going to be an easy ride, and definitely will be an even longer summer. _Gibbs thought to himself.

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**And there you have it! What did you think? Do you think Gibbs was really this torn apart about his decision? He shows very little emotion on the show, and I figured that inside his head he really was hurting too. Please review! They encourage me to write more! Thanks!**


	3. May Tony

**Chapter 3 is here! Tony was easier to write than Gibbs, but I think that they both were equally hurt. Anyways, hope you all enjoy this chapter. Right now I'm just using the end of Aliyah as a guide, once I get all of the agents thoughts, I will move on to between Aliyah and Truth or Consequences. Read and Review!**

**Nope...NCIS isn't mine...*sigh*

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Tony got on the plane waiting for his boss and Ziva to get on so they could leave. He sat waiting patiently wondering what could be taking the two so long. He watched as Gibbs walked onto the plane and sat up quickly, wondering where Ziva was.

"Boss, one short?" He asked alarmed.

"Good to go!" Gibbs gave a thumbs up, ignoring Tony's question.

Tony looked at his boss with curious eyes and tried to hide his hurt and disappointment. All he had done for Ziva meant nothing if she stayed in Israel. He was angry at Gibbs. How could he leave her there? He sighed and leaned his head back, not wanting to look at Gibbs right now.

The ride home was long and painful. He wanted nothing more to be home so he could think and clear his head. He knew that once they arrived at NCIS everyone would want answers, and he really didn't want have to relive this moment over and over again.

The plane touched ground and he quickly grabbed his bag and got off the plane, trying to distance himself from Gibbs. The car ride was much more painful, the tension evident. Gibbs didn't look at Tony and Tony didn't look at Gibbs the whole way.

_Why would he leave Ziva? She was like his daughter. He was supposed to care about her. And doing this to me! How could he do this to me! _Tony thought angrily.

Tony could see Gibbs glance his way from the corner of his eye and he frowned. Gibbs was like Tony's father, he was more of a father than his could ever be. But Tony felt betrayed by him. Betrayal was the one thing on his mind the whole trip and he couldn't shake the feeling even though he knew that Gibbs knew what he was doing when he left her.

When they finally arrived at NCIS, Gibbs grabbed his stuff and quickly got into his car and drove off. Tony watched him until he could no longer see the car in sight and followed Director Vance inside. He could hear Abby talking when the elevator stopped on the floor and he sighed.

_This is going to be a long night._ He thought.

"Ok their flights arrived, where are they?" Abby asked frustrated.

"Behind you." Tony quietly replied.

"Huh! Yay! Welcome back!"

"Watch the…oh!" Tony flinched and gasped as Abby hugged him, crushing his fractured arm.

"I missed you…sorry." She quickly added.

"It's alright. Missed you too Abs." Tony breathed out.

"Tony. I…" Palmer nervously greeted him and stood up from Tony's desk.

"Jimmy." Tony gasped in pain and put down his stuff. Sitting down at his desk.

"So Ziva's getting her stuff?" McGee asked.

"No."

"She parking the car?" Abby smiled and turned to Tony. Palmer smiled and waited for Tony's answer.

"No." Tony sighed.

Palmer, Abby, and McGee all turned to Tony with confused looks on their faces. Not sure of what's going on, they waited for Tony to elaborate. When he didn't McGee asked him.

"Well what is she doing?"

"Well considering the time difference, probably eating breakfast." Tony answered, putting stuff away and occupying himself with his desk.

"She's still in Tel Aviv?" Palmer asked, genuinely confused by the whole situation.

"Yep." Tony replied and sighed.

"Well when is she coming back?" McGee started panicking.

"She's not." Tony's expression was both sad and hurt.

"NO! This cannot happen! Vance cannot do this again!" Abby raised her voice.

"It wasn't Vance's call." Tony replied, bitterness evident in his voice as he looked at Abby.

Abby looked at McGee alarmed. This could not be happening. The team wouldn't be the team with Ziva gone. Tony noticed the exchanged glance and tried to hide his anger and pain. He shouldn't feel this way anyway. It's not like Ziva was his girlfriend or anything…

"Well if it wasn't Vance then who?" McGee asked.

Tony just looked at McGee for a second, an angry expression on his face, before answering.

"Gibbs."

The three of them turned to each other with shocked expressions.

"But why would Gibbs leave her?" Abby questioned, her voice scratchy.

"You think I can tell you what goes on in his head?" Tony snapped and Abby shrunk back from him.

"Tony." McGee started. "Abby didn't do anything. What happened exactly?"

Tony sighed. He shouldn't have snapped at Abby. He was tired and frustrated. Not to mention angry at Gibbs.

"Sorry Abs. Gibbs didn't say anything to me. He was quiet the whole way. All I know is that when he got on the plane, Ziva wasn't with him. And when I asked if we were one short he just ignored me and said we were good to go. I didn't ask him anything after that." Tony explained and sighed.

"But she has to come back!" Abby cried.

"Abby." McGee tried to calm her down.

"I'm gonna head home." Tony stood up and grabbed his stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow." As he walked to the elevator his shoulder sunk. He wasn't going to pretend that he was ok with this. At least not for the next few days.

He went home, took a nice hot shower, put on a movie, and fell asleep on the couch. His sleep was restless and wasn't very restful. The next day he got up and got ready for work. Almost as if he were a zombie, not caring what he wore or did today.

He walked into the bullpen and took his seat. Glancing at McGee who looked at him with sympathy.

"Morning Tony."

"Probie."

Tony began typing and stared at his computer screen, but stopped to glance at Ziva's desk, which was now vacant. An angry, blank expression appeared on his face and he just sat there like that for what seemed like hours.

He grabbed his phone and opened it, scrolling down to Ziva's number, but he didn't dial. He just stared at the phone until he saw someone walking his way.

Gibbs walked up to Tony's desk and watched Tony as he looked at his phone. He didn't remove his gaze from Tony, knowing that he was in pain right now.

"Guess she'll call when she's ready." Tony told him, giving him a somewhat friendly stare.

McGee watched the whole exchange from his desk. Knowing that Gibbs is one with little to say, but says a lot through looks. Gibbs nodded slightly at Tony and walked to his desk.

Tony looked away, sad. And thought of all the times Ziva and him and messed around and acted childish. He looked up, only to find Gibbs looking at Ziva's desk with a pained look on his face. Tony wrinkled his forehead in thought and looked away. He looked down to his phone, which was still opened, and closed it. Knowing that he was right. Ziva would call when she was ready.

_It's going to be a long day._ Tony sighed and began working again.

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**There you have it! What did you guys think! I feel that a lot of emotion wasn't shown, but that they were felt strongly by pretty much everyone. Tony would be one to show the most emotions, aside from Abby of course...review please! They make me happy! Thanks!**


	4. May McGee

**Yay! Next chapter is here everyone! Hope you all like it! I'm glad those of you who are reading, like my story. Right now it's a little slower, since we know what happened here...but once we get into the next couple of months, it's going to have a lot more thinking...not quite as much action, since I wanted to get inside their heads...but anyways...I was wondering if I should do an Abby chapter...what do you think? Read and review!**

**Still don't own NCIS...yet...haha jk!

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McGee sat at his desk typing away impatiently. He was getting anxious and wanted to make sure the rest of his team made it home safely. With all that happened between Ziva and Tony, he really hoped everything would be ok. He sighed and looked up, only to see a very agitated Abby walking towards him.

"Are they here yet?" The happy goth asked while carrying her very large Caf-Pow.

"Abs I told you I'll call you as soon as they show up, Scout's honor." McGee replied, his eyes not leaving his computer screen.

"That's too late McGee, it's not an official welcome back." Abby argued. "I'm mean if I'm here and they walk in I get to say 'Yay! Welcome back!' If they're already here and I come in like Miss Tardy to the Party, then technically it's like them welcoming me back. Tell him Palmer." Abby turned around to face Palmer who was reading Tony's GQ magazine and sitting with his feet propped up on the desk.

"Uh, she, she makes a good point." Palmer looked up and pretended to agree with her.

McGee looked at Palmer a questioning look on his face, and Palmer shook his head and mouthed, _I don't know. _

"I saw that Palmer!" Abby accused him, and took a seat at Ziva's desk. Jimmy's head snapped up and a look of panic overtook his face. He chuckled nervously.

Abby began typing on the computer, looking for her friends' flights and sighed.

"Ok their flights arrived, where are they?" Abby exclaimed frustrated.

"Behind you." Tony quietly responded.

"Huh! Yay welcome back!" Abby jumped up and gave him a hug. McGee smiled and got up from his desk too, walking over to Tony.

"Watch the! Uh!" Tony warned her a little too late.

"I missed you! Sorry." Abby quickly added.

"It's alright. Missed you too Abs." Tony looked as if he was in bad shape.

"Tony, I…" Palmer got up a little afraid of what Tony might do to him for being in his desk.

"Jimmy." Was all he said to him.

McGee finally took this opportunity to speak up.

"So Ziva is getting her stuff. Or…?" McGee asked, wanting to make sure everything was ok with them, with the team.

"No." _Uh oh._ He thought.

"She parking the car?" Abby smirked. Palmer looked up and smiled too.

"No." Tony quickly answered. Abby and Palmer looked at Tony, their smiles quickly fading.

_Uh oh. Things didn't go as well as we all thought. _McGee was thinking, hearing the whole exchange going on in front of him.

"Well what is she doing?" McGee slowly asked, afraid of the answer. Ziva was like the protective older sister. When Tony would pick on him, unlike Kate, she would defend him…most of the time.

"Well considering the time difference, probably eating breakfast." Tony answered, looking at McGee. He seemed really upset and grouchy. McGee didn't want to get Tony angry, but he knew that might happen.

"She's still in Tel Aviv?" Palmers asked rather than stated, and all three of the friends stared at Tony, wanting answers.

"Yep." Tony sighed.

"Well when is she coming back." McGee asked, a little desperation evident in his voice. He liked Ziva, he couldn't lose another female friend.

"She's not."

"No! This cannot happen! Vance cannot do this again!" Abby raised her voice, upset.

"It wasn't Vance's call." Tony told her bitterly. Abby's face changed from anger to concern, she turned to McGee who had an equally shocked expression on his face.

_No. Not Gibbs, he wouldn't do that…_McGee's mind was racing.

"Well if it wasn't Vance, then who?" He spoke the question they all were thinking, all dreading the answer that was to come.

Tony just looked at McGee for a second, an angry expression on his face, before answering.

"Gibbs."

The three of them turned to each other with shocked expressions.

_No. No. No no no! Gibbs would not do that! Tony must be exaggerating! Isn't he? _McGee put on an indifferent face. He couldn't show his weakness in front of every one here.

"But why would Gibbs leave her?" Abby questioned, her voice scratchy. McGee was wondering the same thing.

"You think I can tell you what goes on in his head?" Tony snapped and Abby shrunk back from him.

"Tony." McGee started a little angry that Tony would snap at Abby. "Abby didn't do anything. What happened exactly?"

Tony sighed.

"Sorry Abs. Gibbs didn't say anything to me. He was quiet the whole way. All I know is that when he got on the plane, Ziva wasn't with him. And when I asked if we were one short he just ignored me and said we were good to go. I didn't ask him anything after that." Tony explained running a hand through his hair, which he never did unless he was nervous or angry.

"But she has to come back!" Abby cried. McGee put his arm around Abby's shoulder, comforting her.

"Abby." McGee tried to calm her down.

"I'm gonna head home." Tony stood up and grabbed his stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow." As he walked to the elevator they watched as Tony's shoulders sunk.

Abby turned to McGee.

"Why? Why would Gibbs leave her there?" Abby questioned, her brow furrowing.

"I don't know Abs. And I'm afraid to ask and find out." McGee sighed, the office was going to be tense and uncomfortable for a while, and he wasn't ready to deal with it

"I need time to think. Just leave me alone for a while." Abby grabbed her Caf-Pow and quickly walked to the stairs, heading to her lab.

Palmer just stood there, frozen and unsure of what to take of this news. He turned to McGee and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he saw the pensive look on his face. He turned around quickly and headed towards autopsy, ready to tell Ducky the news.

McGee shook his head, he couldn't believe what was going on. All this because Tony killed Rivkin?

_What happened in Israel? It couldn't have been that bad. Unless Tony did or said something stupid. Which is probable, but still, Gibbs usually just gives him a headslap. _McGee was confused and upset. He walked to his desk and grabbed his gear, hoping to shake the events of today out of his mind.

He walked to the coffee shop and ordered a decaf coffee and headed to his car and drove home.

The night was long and restless for him. He kept tossing and turning, wanting to know what went on in Tel Aviv that Tony wasn't saying. He knew he might just be imagining things, but he still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had.

He finally drifted off to sleep and his alarm went off in what seemed like only minutes.

He got up and showered, quickly grabbing a bagel and heading to NCIS.

When he walked into the bullpen, no one was there yet. He expected Gibbs to be there, but didn't see him, so he sat down and began typing on his computer.

Minutes later, a disgruntled Tony walked in and sat down. Not making eye contact or even making a witty comment.

"Morning Tony." McGee decided to break the silence and try to lighten the mood.

"Probie."

McGee sighed, _So much for lightening the mood. _

He began typing again and heard Tony's loud taps on his keyboard. He glanced briefly at Tony to find him staring at Ziva's desk, a strange expression on his face.

He saw Tony grab his phone and open it. McGee knew what he was doing. Tony was scrolling down to Ziva's number, wanting to call it. He had done the same thing earlier.

That's when McGee saw Gibbs walking towards the bullpen. He pretended he was actually doing something useful or important as Gibbs stopped in front of Tony's desk, his piercing gaze never leaving Tony's.

"Guess she'll call when she's ready." Tony said to Gibbs. McGee was watching the whole exchange, leaning against his desk now. Gibbs didn't say anything, just walked away and sat down at his desk.

McGee watched Gibbs carefully, he wanted to see if he had any signs of regret or pain. When Gibbs looked at Ziva's desk, he knew that Gibbs was hurting just as much as the rest of them. McGee glanced back at Tony and watched as he closed his phone and sighed.

_This is going to be a long month._ McGee thought.

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**There you go...McGee's chapter...what did you all think? And again, should I write an Abby chapter?**


	5. May Abby

**So here is the next chapter. Abby! Thanks for all of you who are reading! Hope you are enjoying it so far...and now that we have the familiar scene out of the way, we can get into June, July, and August...and then September where they rescue Ziva...I can now get back to Ziva and what she's been thinking about...anyways...please read and review!**

**Wish I did, but I don't own NCIS...*Sigh*

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Abby paced around her lab nervously. She was anxious for her friends to arrive safely, and she kept thinking about all the tension there was between Tony and Ziva. When she talked to Gibbs last, it sounded as if Tony and Ziva still hadn't talked to each other. This worried her and made her drink more Caf-Pow than was necessary. Of course, when did she ever drink less than was necessary?

She sighed and sat down in front of her computer. All kinds of thoughts ran through her head.

_What if Tony and Ziva never make up? What if Ziva kills Tony? Will Gibbs allow the team to be separated? Is Ziva coming back? Wait, no, happy thoughts Abby, happy thoughts. _

_Where are they? Their plane should have landed already. Huh! What if something happened to the plane? Maybe it crashed! Oh no! What will I do without Gibbs, and Tony, and Ziva! No no no! This cannot be happening. _

Abby grunted in frustration, grabbing her Caf-Pow and walking upstairs to the bullpen where McGee and Palmer were sitting and waiting.

"Are they here yet?" Abby asked as she swiftly crossed the space between the bullpen and the stairs from her lab.

"Abs I told you I'll call you as soon as they show up, Scout's honor." McGee replied, his eyes not leaving his computer screen. Abby furrowed her brow and stared at McGee.

"That's too late McGee, it's not an official welcome back." Abby argued. "I'm mean if I'm here and they walk in I get to say 'Yay! Welcome back!' If they're already here and I come in like Miss Tardy to the Party, then technically it's like them welcoming me back. Tell him Palmer." Abby turned around to face Palmer who was reading Tony's GQ magazine and sitting with his feet propped up on the desk.

She wanted to be the first one to greet them when they got back, she missed them already and they weren't even gone for that long. In fact, Abby saw them as family. She couldn't imagine life without them. Not knowing where they were at, or if they were even safe yet, was killing her.

"Uh, she, she makes a good point." Palmer looked up and pretended to agree with her.

McGee looked at Palmer a questioning look on his face, and Palmer shook his head and mouthed, _I don't know. _

"I saw that Palmer!" Abby accused him, and took a seat at Ziva's desk. Jimmy's head snapped up and a look of panic overtook his face. He chuckled nervously.

Abby began typing on the computer, looking for her friends' flights and sighed.

"Ok their flights arrived, where are they?" Abby exclaimed frustrated.

_If they arrived, they should be here. Why aren't they here? What if something happened?_

"Behind you." Tony quietly responded.

"Huh! Yay welcome back!" Abby jumped up and gave him a hug. She missed him so much, and was glad to have him safe and sound back home, even though he was injured. McGee smiled and got up from his desk too, walking over to Tony.

"Watch the! Uh!" Tony warned her a little too late.

"I missed you! Sorry." Abby quickly added. She bit her lip and smiled at him, hoping to hear more about the trip and what happened.

"It's alright. Missed you too Abs." Tony looked as if he was in bad shape.

"Tony, I…" Palmer got up a little afraid of what Tony might do to him for being in his desk. Abby smirked and watched the little exchange, knowing that while Tony may be intimidated by others, he certainly could intimidate those who couldn't intimidate him.

"Jimmy." Was all he said to him. Abby snickered quietly, not allowing Palmer to see that she was enjoying watching him squirm.

"So Ziva is getting her stuff. Or…?" McGee asked. Abby smiled and looked at Tony, waiting for an answer.

"No." Tony quickly answered. Abby felt alarmed, but pushed it down, knowing that Ziva could be parking the car or something.

"She parking the car?" Abby smirked. Palmer looked up and smiled too.

"No." Tony replied. Abby and Palmer looked at Tony, their smiles quickly fading.

_No. No no no no no! _Abby's thoughts immediately became alarmed and she could sense that something was wrong. She could always sense these things. Ziva had to be back, she couldn't be gone. She needed her here, especially for female support.

"Well what is she doing?" McGee slowly asked, Abby afraid to hear the answer.

"Well considering the time difference, probably eating breakfast." Tony answered, looking at McGee. Abby frowned and felt her stomach drop. All her worst fears were coming true. This cannot be happening again to her, she couldn't lose Ziva again. A friend she had come to love and know over the past three years.

"She's still in Tel Aviv?" Palmers asked rather than stated, and all three of the friends stared at Tony, wanting answers.

"Yep." Tony sighed.

"Well when is she coming back." McGee asked, a little desperation evident in his voice, which Abby noted. Of course Ziva was important to all of them.

_Why couldn't you just have left her alone Tony? Maybe things wouldn't be this way. No, it's not his fault, he was helping her. He cares for her, loves her even. He wouldn't do this on purpose, or to hurt her just cuz he's jealous. _Abby began letting her thoughts swirl around.

"She's not."

"No! This cannot happen! Vance cannot do this again!" Abby raised her voice, upset. She wanted to cry, to throw something, to scream. Whatever she could do to express how she felt right now, she wanted to do. Instead she decided to stay calm and hear Tony's explanation.

"It wasn't Vance's call." Tony told her bitterly. Abby's face changed from anger to concern, she turned to McGee who had an equally shocked expression on his face.

_Gibbs wouldn't do that…would he? _Abby thought, feeling a sob in her throat, but pushing it back.

"Well if it wasn't Vance, then who?" McGee asked, the hidden question evident.

Tony just looked at McGee for a second, an angry expression on his face, before answering.

"Gibbs."

At that moment, Abby felt her heart drop. She felt as if someone had stabbed her and left her there breathless. Her world was crumbling down around her again. It always seemed to happen that way for her. She would get close to someone, and then they would leave or something bad would happen to them. She hated that Gibbs, of all people, would leave Ziva in Israel. Especially over a stupid situation that could easily be dealt with.

"But why would Gibbs leave her?" Abby questioned, her voice scratchy. She wondered if anyone else was thinking the same thing or not.

"You think I can tell you what goes on in his head?" Tony snapped and Abby shrunk back from him. Tony never snapped at her, in fact he never ever got mad at her. Impatient, yes. But mad, no. He was never angry with her. She knew she must have hit a nerve with her question.

"Tony." McGee started a little angry that Tony would snap at Abby. "Abby didn't do anything. What happened exactly?"

Tony sighed.

"Sorry Abs. Gibbs didn't say anything to me. He was quiet the whole way. All I know is that when he got on the plane, Ziva wasn't with him. And when I asked if we were one short he just ignored me and said we were good to go. I didn't ask him anything after that." Tony explained running a hand through his hair, which he never did unless he was nervous or angry.

"But she has to come back!" Abby cried. McGee put his arm around Abby's shoulder, comforting her.

"Abby." McGee tried to calm her down.

"I'm gonna head home." Tony stood up and grabbed his stuff. "I'll see you tomorrow." Abby watched Tony leave, his shoulders sagging when he thought no one was watching. She knew this would be just as hard on him as it was on her. She had her suspicions about the two, but seeing Tony so distraught and hurt about this, only confirmed what she suspected. Tony loved Ziva, though he'd never admit it.

Abby turned to McGee.

"Why? Why would Gibbs leave her there?" Abby questioned, her brow furrowing. She knew that Gibbs didn't do things irrationally, but this definitely seemed irrational to her. She wanted answers, she wanted to talk to Gibbs about this, but right now she needed time to think. To figure things out.

"I don't know Abs. And I'm afraid to ask and find out." McGee sighed

I need time to think. Just leave me alone for a while." Abby grabbed her Caf-Pow and quickly walked to the stairs, heading to her lab.

She grabbed Bert and squeezed him tight, a farting noise escaping him. Even squeezing Bert wasn't helping her calm down. She needed a hug, but right now didn't seem like a good time to ask for hugs.

"Gibbs, how could you just leave Ziva like that? She was part of us, part of our family. Why?" Abby whispered to no one.

She grabbed her things and headed to the elevator, wanting to be alone so she could cry. First Kate, now Ziva. This couldn't be happening. Well Ziva isn't dead, but not having her here was just as bad.

The happy goth walked to her apartment in tears. How was she supposed to just deal with this? How was she supposed to act like everything was ok, especially since it's not ok.

One thing she knew for sure, she needed to talk to Gibbs, to get some answers.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! Abby definitely has more emotions than the rest, but she is known for that...the others just hide it well...review! And I will try to update soon again! Next will either be Tony's thoughts or Ziva's...**


	6. June Tony

**Next chapter up! This one took me a few days, especially cuz I added my own stuff and used some of what was on the show...so I had to watch the show and write down conversations as I watched, which took me forever. Hope you enjoy this! I know I started with Ziva, but I promise, we'll find out what is happening to her soon enough...any suggestions on what she should be going through? So please, please, please read and review! I'm glad you are all enjoying the story! Thanks to all my readers! **

**P.S. I still don't own NCIS, if I did, would I be writing on here?

* * *

**

June**  
**

_Masks. We all wear them. It's like Jim Carrey in The Mask. Only I don't turn green and I definitely don't have Cameron Diaz, but that's beside the point. It's been one month since Ziva's been gone, and my mask has been sealed on my face. I wonder if I'm the only one that's concerned about her and really misses her. I mean, I haven't heard from her. One month should be enough time to cool off right? Well considering I did kill the man she may have loved, it gives her the right to be pissed off at me. But she'd forgive me…right?_

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs raised his voice trying to get his Senior Officer's attention.

"Uh yeah boss!" Tony's head snapped up as he was shaken out of his thoughts.

"What do ya got?" Gibbs asked, a little impatiently.

"Um, nothing yet boss." Tony flinched, afraid of the reaction he might get.

"Well hurry up then!" Gibbs gave him a knowing look. Tony shrugged and turned his attention back to his computer, typing to get some work done.

"McGee!" Tony heard Gibbs impatiently call.

"Sorry boss, I don't have anything yet."

Tony chuckled. "What McGoo, did you miss breakfast or something? It's not like you to not have anything yet."

McGee glared at Tony. "You shouldn't be talking Tony. You don't have anything yet either."

"Actually I do." Tony stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh yeah, prove it."

"Ok McProbie! Boss! Petty Officer James Berkfield was married. Note the past tense verb. Wife apparently split up with him after finding out that he was engaged before. My suspicion's that she did it. Always suspect the wife." Tony smirked and turned his head to McGee who was frowning.

"McGee! Bank statements, credit card actions, phone records…anything?" Gibbs barked impatiently.

"Umm…ex-wife made a deposit two days ago, a fairly large sum. It's from a John Truman. Doesn't say what for or anything. And her phone records show no evidence of unusual activity. That's all I got boss." McGee nervously replied.

"Tony with me. McGee, figure out what that deposit was for."

"Got it boss!" Tony jumped up and grabbed his gear.

He glanced at Ziva's desk, a hint of sadness overtaking his features for a split second. Usually he would be taking her with him, but she's gone now. Tony sighed when he walked into the elevator.

"Got a problem DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked softly yet demanding.

"No boss. Just a little tired." Tony lied, knowing that if they got into the subject of Ziva, Gibbs might get angry or slap him.

"I can't have my Senior Agent tired. Do I have to send you back to the office to do McGee's job?"

"No Boss…it won't happen again."

"Alright." Gibbs stared at him for a few moments before pulling out the car keys.

The day ended with nothing unusual happening. Turns out the ex-wife was at a friend's house the night of the murder, but Tony still had his doubts about her.

Gibbs allowed Tony and McGee to go home early, as the day was uneventful and answers weren't found yet.

"Keep your phones handy in case something comes up." Gibbs told them before heading down to Abby's lab.

Tony and McGee rode the elevator in silence until McGee spoke up.

"Has Ziva emailed you?" He asked innocently, unaware of the tension that would soon flare up.

"No, why?" Tony's head snapped up and he glared at McGee. "Has she emailed you?"

"No. I'm just a little concerned about her. Not hearing from her is unusual. For you it's understandable, but I didn't do anything wrong." McGee answered.

"I may have done some stupid things Probie, but killing Rivkin was not one of them. He was playing her, and he was a threat to us. Who knows what would be going on if I hadn't killed him. And it was self-defense. It's not like I went in there and went trigger happy. I know what I'm doing McGeek!" Tony ranted angrily.

"Sorry. I was just saying." McGee mumbled.

Tony sighed and took a deep breath, letting his breathing calm him down. He shouldn't have snapped at McGee like that, but Ziva was still a touchy subject for him.

"Sorry McGee. I'm just frustrated is all." Tony apologized, not saying more.

McGee nodded and looked away, not wanting to cause more problems with Tony.

"It's ok to miss her Tony." McGee said as he stepped off the elevator.

Tony stood there for a moment, processing what McGee just said. Of course he missed Ziva. How could he not. She was his partner, his ninja. No one could ever replace her. And it was all his fault she was gone. Had he not acted so stupid, she would still be here, with him, with the team.

Tony stood up straighter and walked out of the elevator, and quickly made his way to his car.

As he was driving home, it started to rain. He hadn't seen it rain this hard in years, so he pulled over, deciding he wanted to enjoy the precipitation. His thoughts ran wild, the rain reminded him of a scene in The Notebook. He only wished he could have had his Notebook moment with…

_She's gone Tony, get over it. You'll never have you're chance to have a romantic kiss in the rain with her. _Tony sighed, annoyed with himself.

He started his car again and drove home, despite the difficulty in seeing the road. He silently cursed himself for allowing his feelings to take over and causing him to break Gibbs' rule number twelve.

_Never date a co-worker._ Technically he hadn't been on a date with her, but he wanted to. After their undercover mission, he knew that he was falling slowly for her. He would never admit it to anyone, and the person he wished he could talk to about it, would slap the back of his head in disapproval.

_Why is love so hard? _Tony thought to himself.

"The heart wants what it wants…" Tony mumbled to himself, remembering a conversation he had with Ziva in the men's bathroom.

"I'm so sorry Ziva." He whispered.

_I just hope you're safe ninja. Don't let anything bad happen to you, I don't know what I'd do if I found out someone hurt you. _

Tony barely made it to his apartment an hour later. Traffic was horrible and the rain didn't stop. He realized that he didn't have an umbrella and sighed. He'd have to run in and get soaked. He opened the door and sprinted to the door, but slipped on the sidewalk and his things flew everywhere.

Tony grunted and quickly got up, getting completely soaked, and grabbed his things before they could get ruined. Oddly enough he found this whole situation fun and cathartic.

He laughed as he ran inside, water dripping from every inch of him. He couldn't wait to tell…Tony sighed.

_Ziva's gone._

His posture immediately changed and he walked up to his apartment sulkily. His fun and happiness was ruined. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that Ziva is gone.

* * *

Tony watched as his boss interrogated the suspect, always enjoying this part of the investigation, he chuckled as he saw the man flinch when Gibbs raised his voice.

_He couldn't have done it, I still say we bring in the wife._ Tony thought as he watched the scene play out in front of him. McGee walked in quietly and stood next to Tony, his eyes focusing on Tony's expression.

"What are you looking at Probie?" Tony snapped.

"Nothing, I was just gonna ask you if he snapped yet." McGee quickly covered.

"Nope. I still don't think he did it, I think the wife did."

"You tell Gibbs that?"

"He knows how I feel about wives and their involvement in most crimes." Tony simply answered.

McGee nodded and continued to watch Gibbs, when the man broke down crying, Gibbs walked out.

"He didn't do it." Gibbs told them.

"Right, so should I bring in the wife?" Tony asked.

"No, we need more evidence before we bring anyone in." Gibbs walked off, handing the folder to Tony.

Later that week, Gibbs and Tony went to Petty Officer James Berkfield's ex-wife's house, only to find that she wasn't there.

Gibbs pulled out his phone and called McGee.

"McGee! Give me the address of Laura Berkfield's sister's house."

"On it boss."

Tony walked around the house and looked inside the windows and saw a small movement.

_She's in there, I bet you anything she is!_

"Boss!" Tony shouted, motioning him over.

"I'll call you back McGee." Tony heard Gibbs tell McGee.

"You go around the front, I'll take the back." Gibbs ordered Tony. Tony nodded and pulled out his gun. He waited for Gibbs' orders before breaking the door down and heading in.

There were a few gunshots and then silence.

_Oh no! Not Gibbs! _Tony thought worriedly and ran into the living room.

"Boss!"

"I'm alright DiNozzo." Gibbs said from the floor. There was blood on him, but it was not his.

"What happened?"

"She shot at me, I shot back. What do ya think happened DiNozzo?" Gibbs sarcastically replied.

"Right boss."

_He had me worried, I can't lose two people in my life. I already lost Kate, now Ziva. How am I supposed to handle all this? _

Tony grinned as he walked into the bullpen.

"What'd I tell you Probie? Wife did it." Tony did a small dance and spun on his heals, making McGee roll his eyes.

* * *

It was a long week, with nothing but paperwork to do. Tony hated paperwork, as it didn't have any action and it allowed his thoughts to wander back to the subject he tried to push back…Ziva.

Although his mind constantly wandered back to Ziva, he was definitely a lot happier than he was a few weeks ago. He was surprised at this, and he wanted this to last. He even got back to his cocky ways and annoying pranks with McGee.

"Hahahaha!" Tony laughed as he and McGee walked out of the elevator.

"Tony, I'm not your home theater guy." McGee told Tony, an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Don't be ridunculous. Of course you're my home theater guy." Tony pulled off his glasses and patted McGee's back.

McGee rolled his eyes and continued walking to his desk, Tony following close behind.

"Alright you getting a picture?"

"Yes, just not crisp you know? It's not rich." Tony motioned with his hands, trying to explain that the picture wasn't as great as it could be.

"Well what's your source? Blue Ray or Satellite?" McGee asked.

"Neither, it's the uh, streaming HD thing from the net fields. The greens are blue, the blues are green. Oranges are pink. And the reds are sorta eggplanty." Tony waved his arms as he explained what was going on with his TV.

"Well it sounds like a problem with your component cables. You streaming through wireless set up cuz if it's HD you really need wireless components." Tony's face scrunched up in confusion as McGee kept going on with all his techno talk.

"Also plasma, 1080 I? 1080 P?" McGee shook his head, waiting for an answer. Instead Tony kept his stare on McGee, still completely confused.

"Will you just come over and fix it?" Tony tried to understand what McGee was saying, but couldn't. It'd be easier if McGee just came over and fixed it.

"What's in it for me?" McGee raised his eyebrow.

"Digitally remastered 1955 classic Bad Day At Black Rocks. Spencer Tracy with the one arm." Tony passionately explained and stared at McGee.

"Is that anything like money? Cuz money is what's customarily exchanged for services rendered."

"It's computers, it's your thing. If I had a thing I'd show it off all the time." Tony reasoned, not realizing what was coming out of his mouth.

"There're rules against that DiNozzo." Gibbs stated as he walked into the bullpen with his coffee. Tony just stared at Gibbs, words escaping him at the moment. McGee looked at Tony and hid a smirk.

"Grab your gear, we got a dead petty officer." Gibbs informed them.

"Uh!" Tony sighed, exasperated and let his head fall back. They had already been on this case since the end of May, and they still had to figure out who was dealing drugs, causing Petty Officers to drop like flies. The last time they were on the ship, he and McGee had to try to take down a crazy overdosed, Petty Officer. And that really didn't turn out too well, with McGee dragging on the floor holding onto the Petty Officer's leg, and Tony pulling on his torso, hoping to pull him down. They were failing miserably as Gibbs walked in and simply put his foot behind the Petty Officer's leg, pushed him back, and put his foot on his throat, causing him to pass out. If only it were that easy for McGee and DiNozzo.

"Another meth overdose?" McGee questioned.

"You know as much as I do." Gibbs told him, tucking something into his pocket.

Tony walked to his desk and grabbed his guns from his desk and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Tony, now?" McGee asked, nodding his head towards Gibbs.

"Feels like now."

"You wanna go?" McGee tilted his head.

"No, you go I gotta gather my thoughts." Tony would rather avoid one of Gibbs outbursts, and save his head from a slap.

"Hey boss." McGee nervously called Gibbs.

Tony watched carefully as Gibbs turned to McGee. He didn't know whether or not he looked angry, or it was just Gibbs' normal face, but he was sure Gibbs was about to tell McGee something about not following orders, or taking too long.

"I think it's time we filled the empty chair."

Tony's eyes flicked from McGee to Gibbs, wanting to focus more on Gibbs' response than the fact that Ziva would soon be replaced.

"Oh you do?" Gibbs looked at McGee and raised his eyebrows.

Tony looked at Gibbs, figuring it was his time to chime in, save McGee from something potentially dangerous.

"Yeah we do, it's a, it's the right time to do this, the personnel files are starting to stack up on your desk." Tony quickly explained and reasoned to Gibbs.

Gibbs turned around without a word setting his coffee down and going to his desk. Tony turned to McGee and made a face, his mouth making a worried shape. He could see the fear in McGee's eyes, which almost made him laugh, if the situation were different he would have.

Gibbs picked up all the personnel files and slammed them on Tony's desk.

"Ok. You pick. After we get back."

Tony rushed over to the pile, rubbing his fingers together in excitement.

"Ok first things first, we gotta narrow down perspective agents, it's gotta be a woman."

"Those are just the women." Gibbs told Tony, Tony turning his head to look at Gibbs.

"Are there photos in here boss?" excitement evident in Tony's voice.

"Boss, really? Tony picks? Because you know coming from anyone else that might be considered a lapse in judgment." McGee reasoned with Gibbs as he and Tony followed him into the elevator.

"Ok you both pick."

"That makes much more sense." McGee's face was relieved as he turned to Tony.

"You don't trust me to be professional?" Tony got really close to Gibbs, seeking some kind of trust.

"No casting couch." Was the reply Gibbs gave to him as he turned to face the elevator doors and sighed in defeat.

* * *

Tony took pictures at the crime scene while McGee explained to Gibbs who the Petty Officer was.

"Petty Officer Kevin Wingate, disciplined for drug possession. Low quantity."

"Personal use?" Gibbs asked, handing the clipboard back to McGee

"What kind of discipline?" Tony asked as he sorted through the photos on the camera.

"60 day restriction." McGee looked up and told Tony.

"Huh. He hasn't been off the boat?"

"Not in two months." McGee answered, Gibbs turning around and listening intently.

"Well, he didn't get the dose on land, he could've cooked it up himself." Tony reasoned and shrugged, trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"Or someone brought it to him. Shipmates thought he'd cave." Gibbs simply stated, putting in his own theory.

"Guess he fell off." McGee stated.

"We do not guess, Timothy, nor do we assume, presume, conjecture, or prognosticate." Ducky informed McGee as Tony raised his hands and stepped back, allowing him into the tiny quarters.

_Ducky's going to go rambling on about this, McGee should say something, apologize maybe? _Tony thought as he watched Ducky and Palmer file in.

Ducky walked over to the body and set his bag down, rummaging through it to find the right tools needed for his brief investigation.

"Dilated pupils, profuse sweating…the shirt's still damp. Bring to mind a classmate of mine in medical school." _Here we go…_Tony thought as he heard Ducky begin to talk. "E. Landon Reginald Ellsworth the Third."

Tony peeked into the room, a confused and disturbed expression on his face.

"Nobody's named that." Tony spoke part of what he was thinking, doubt evident in his voice. _He has got to be making that name up. It's too ridiculous to have. Of course, it is England, or Britain, whatever it's called, and they have the weirdest names there…_Tony thought.

"Except his father." McGee stated.

"And his father's father." Gibbs finished the statement.

"Reggie concocted his own amphetimines. He liked to use the stuff to keep himself awake while cramming for exams. Ended up a final himself when he passed out seconds before pencils down. Reggie made it, this fellow was not so fortunate." Tony listed as Ducky told his story, finally tying it into the situation now.

"Death about six hours ago."

"McGee, finish sketching the inventory of Wingate's locker. DiNozzo, duty roster, prints, trace, scour this ship." Tony looked up from his writing and watched Gibbs walk by, pursing his lips together.

"So many tasks, so few hands. Have any of you two heard from Ziva?" Ducky asked casually. McGee looked up quickly, while Tony's gaze hardened a little when he snapped his head up, wanting to hear the answer.

_What if she contacted McGee and Ducky, but not me? She wouldn't do that…would she?_ Tony wondered.

McGee just shook his head.

"No. You?" Tony's voice changed as he answered, a little more sharpness in his voice than he intended. This was just a touchy subject for him, one he was sensitive to and would rather avoid if he could.

"No." Ducky sighed. "It's all so very sad, but I suppose the time comes to move on."

"Yeah." Tony's voice was softer, and a little distant. _But I don't want to move on, I'm not ready…I want to hear from her, to clear things up…_

McGee walked past Tony, and Tony moved back to let him pass. His face becoming more and more solemn. His mask that he had been wearing, slowly and briefly coming off. Fortunately no one saw it.

* * *

The next day Tony began with the interviews with prospective agents. His first hour and a half flying by with many, many beautiful women…in his opinion.

_No, we can't have any attractive women, or any that resemble…_

"Thank you pantsuit girl." Tony grinned and slammed the file down. She nodded at him and smiled. Getting up and walking away. As she walked away, Tony turned to McGee and mouthed, _wow._ McGee raising his hand for the next woman to come and take a seat.

"This is Claire Connell, from the DEA." McGee introduced.

"Pleased to meet you, Special Agent DiNozzo." She held out her hand for him to shake. Tony accepted her handshake and her grip on his hand tightened, crushing his hands and making his fingers and knuckles pop.

"Hi…..oh!" Tony gasped in pain, his face scrunching up. He tried pulling his hand away, but her grip only tightened. Panic began going through his head. It was his right hand she was hurting.

_Let go, let go, let go! I need this hand. I shoot with this hand, I write with this hand. I NEED this hand! OW OW OW!_

"Tony." He told her, pain still written all over his face as she let go. "We don't really stand on formality here, why don't you take a seat." He clutched his hand, trying to soothe it, then opened it wide stretching it out. "WOWZERS! That's some grip." Tony turned to McGee in panic, trying not to lose his cool.

McGee turned to her and eyed her curiously, waiting for some kind of explanation.

"Yeah. I was a pack a day smoker. Quit by occupying my hands with power putty." She pulled one out and started squeezing it. Tony watched as she did so. His eyes widening a little as she squeezed it.

_Too much like Ziva, yet in a completely different way. Strong, but not like Ziva. I like her, but can she make the cut. Her looks shouldn't be a problem for me…but…_

"Wow, demonstrates strong will." McGee turned to Tony, impressed. She nodded in gratitude and smiled. Tony just raised his eyebrows and looked at her file, reading about her.

"Excellent aptitude scores, high reviews from her colleagues at the DEA…" McGee started reading off the file.

"I see that. So why would you want to leave then Claire?" Tony looked up, curious.

"I was involved in a relationship of a more personal nature." She explained. Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise and curiosity, wanting to hear more about this.

_Hmmm, could be a problem…_

"It became difficult for the other party to control their emotions in the work place setting." She looked at Tony with a piercing gaze, almost taunting him.

"Yeah, gotta hate clingy guys." Tony eyed her suspiciously. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows shaking her head slightly, trying to process what Tony was saying. "Clingy girls?"

McGee shook his head. "He didn't ask."

"So don't tell." Tony quickly added, feeling stupid that he let his mind wander to that place.

"It was interfering with my abilities to perform my duties at the highest level." She continued, ignoring Tony's questions and statement.

"Heh! Sure, sure." Tony chuckled and looked at McGee. He wanted to make sure she wouldn't be able to take Ziva's place, so he decided to throw in a scenario for her.

"You know those movies where they have the really beautiful woman, but put her in the big glasses and tie her hair back and have her march around in the big baggy clothes…" She smirked at him as he continued. "But then the turn comes, the penny drops, and the ugly duckling magically transforms into the swan?" Tony finished, questioning if that would be an issue.

"Oh that won't be an issue." She stated, and Tony raised his eyebrows briefly, as if asking her to elaborate on that. "I find that my looks have the tendency to prevent people from taking me seriously."

Tony watched her, looking for any sign of a lie on her face.

"That's fantastic." _She could be the one, no distractions, no romantic feelings. She definitely won't be replacing Ziva, no one could anyways…_

"She has my vote." Tony turned to McGee and told him. McGee looked at him with surprise, which Tony figured he would, she's not someone Tony would want on the team, or to be with for that matter.

"Really?"

"Really." Tony answered, keeping his voice nonchalant.

"Alright. Ok, let's start the on the job training. Of course Agent Gibbs will make the final decision. Let's go see him." She smiled and gave an excited, relieved sigh as she stood up.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity." She stuck her hand out to Tony.

Tony looked at her hand nervously and smiled.

"Ok." He raised his hand and chuckled nervously, not wanting to shake her hand again and endure that pain. She looked at him confused, and pulled her hand back, closing it.

"Right this way." McGee guided her to the conference room.

Tony got up and followed them from a safe distance, wanting to avoid physical contact with her.

_Well she's not Ziva, and as long as I want to keep a good distance away from her, I'm good._ Tony smiled softly as he followed them.

McGee let her into the conference room and turned to Tony.

" You know it's all about chemistry. Zing…the ssss…pa!" Tony expressively explained, his arms crossed and his goofy demeanor obvious at the moment.

"What is pa?" McGee asked.

"Pa. You know?" Tony assured him he knew, but explained anyway, walking backwards and around McGee as he did so. "Gotta know to zig while I zag." Tony moved in a zig zag, showing McGee what he means. "Gotta know to bob when you weave. Rock when he rolls." Tony pointed to McGee and threw a thumb over his shoulder. "That's the pa of it all….PA!" Tony slapped his arms onto McGee's shoulders and gripped him.

"She's unflappable." McGee reasoned.

"She's unflappable." Tony shrugged his shoulders and let go of McGee, agreeing with him.

Just as he said that, Claire came running out of the conference room, crying. Coming between him and McGee and shoving them aside. Gibbs followed not to far behind. Tony and McGee watched as she ran off.

Tony was rendered speechless. _Wow, definitely NOT Ziva. _

"Strike one!" Gibbs smacked Tony with the file, handing it to him. Tony not looking at him, but still staring where Claire had ran past. Both McGee and him speechless and feeling awkward.

_Wow. I have no words for this really…well I guess I do, but wow…_ Tony was too shocked to do anything but stand there and look stupid.

_Well at least McGeek is here with me looking just as stupid as I am. _Tony reasoned to himself.

* * *

**So...what did you think? Longer chapter...but I had fun writing it...and I am open to suggestions, if you have any...review your little hearts out! haha...thanks again for reading!**


	7. June Ziva

**This chapter was much easier to write, for some reason Ziva is easy to write for me. It's a shorter chapter, but it's what I think Ziva went through and thought while she was a captive in Somalia. Anyways, here you guys go! Read and review!

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**

Ziva David trembled as she heard footsteps coming towards her room, if it could even be called that. She silently wondered if this would be her last day alive and if they would show her any mercy.

They had already beaten her enough to where she would bleed and be knocked unconscious, only to be woken up by smelling salt and beaten again. She really felt that she deserved this. It was what she deserved since she told Gibbs that she no longer trusted Tony, and in not trusting Tony, she doesn't trust Gibbs.

Her punishment was justified in her mind. The door creaked open and she shut her eyes tightly. She inhaled shakily as she waited for today's torture she knew was coming.

"Open your eyes." The voice said calmly and forcefully.

Ziva gasped when she felt a slap across her face, her cheek stinging and tears forming in her eyes. She opened her eyes and looked the man in the face.

"Now what is a pretty woman like you doing here in Somalia?" The man asked, staring intently at her.

Ziva refused to speak, knowing full well that she would be hit or something for her lack of cooperation. When she felt nothing, she opened her eyes and stared at the man.

"I'm not going to hit you." He said, Ziva just stared blankly at him. "Aren't you going to say anything? A pretty woman like you must have a pretty voice."

"Why do you not just kill me. I know it is what you want to do." Ziva whispered, staring him straight in the eye.

"Not yet." The man replied, eyeing her impiously. Ziva immediately began to get nervous, she'd much rather be beaten than be looked at like they way this man was looking at her now.

"Why not?" Ziva decided to drag on the conversation, maybe it would stop him from doing what she suspected he was going to do.

"I have better ideas." The man said as he slid his hand across her face. Fear began to push its way up into Ziva's usually strong demeanor. She shrugged and moved her face away from his hand, which only made him angry and grab her.

"Don't do that again." He said through clenched teeth.

"Get your hands off of me." Ziva replied, her voice sounding so small.

The only thought that was running through her head at the moment was Tony.

_Tony, I wish you were here, you'd save me…I'm so sorry…I should have trusted you. And Gibbs. How could I have been so stupid!_

Noticing the far off look in Ziva's eyes, the man got angry and pulled her face towards him.

"Look at me!" He snarled.

Ziva tried to avoid his gaze, but it was no use. Either way this was going to happen, no matter what she tried to do. She was tied up and in a dark room. Her screams for help wouldn't matter either.

Slowly the man started to unbutton her shirt, that's when Ziva allowed herself to black out and not think of what was happening to her. Instead she thought back to happier times, times when she was with people she loved. Tears started rolling down her face as the man did things to her she wished he wouldn't.

"Saleem!" A guard called from outside. Saleem angrily turned around, not wanting to be disturbed at the moment.

"What?" He snapped at the guard.

"We have a problem…" The guard trailed off, but stopped when he saw Saleem's glare. "And I'll just tell them to figure things out themselves…"

"Go!" Saleem pointed out and watched until the door closed.

Ziva tried to control her whimpers as Saleem continued what he started.

_I deserve this. I deserve this. It's all my fault. I'm sorry Tony! Gibbs, I'm sorry. If I ever see you again, I want to be able to tell you how sorry I am._

What seemed like hours later to Ziva, Saleem stopped. Ziva held in a sigh of relief and let her head hang down. Feeling ashamed and dirty. She had no control over the situation and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I will be seeing you later." Saleem huskily told her as he walked out and locked the door behind him.

Ziva allowed the tears to fall heavier now. Her sobbing growing louder by the minute.

_I wonder what Tony's doing. If he's happy. If I could just talk to him one more time, I would. I would tell him that I do trust him. That his gut was right. He was a cop after all, he knows what he's doing. And he didn't do it cuz he was jealous. Yes it was wrong and stupid of him, going without backup, completely out of protocol. However, he did it because he truly does care about me. Why was I so blind, stubborn, and stupid. _

Ziva's sobbing continued to grow louder as she thought about her partner. Her partner who had her back for four years. She treated him so badly and they parted on bad terms.

As she continued to cry and think about what just happened to her, she gasped as she realized something. Something she knew had always been there, but she refused to admit it.

_I love Tony._

If she were to survive this horrible experience and escape and head back to America, she would be sure to tell Tony this…if only she could survive that long. There was no hope for her though. She had been here for…who knows how long. It could be days, weeks, months. She didn't keep track. She gave up after the third day of beating and losing consciousness.

_I want to go back to Gibbs. I want to be part of NCIS. They were my family. Abby…oh Abby and her strange ways. I do not understand her sometimes, but she has always been my friend, except for at the beginning._

_And McGee, he's like the brother I wished Ari was like. Someone who cared for me and looked out for me, and who I could pick on and protect at the same time. I hope McGee is doing alright. I didn't say goodbye to him, nor Abby…gosh I left so angrily. My last words, were words of bitterness about Tony to Gibbs._

_Gibbs. Gibbs was more like my father than Eli is to me. I wonder if Eli is even looking for me, does he even care that I'm missing? Does he know I'm missing? Does anyone know I'm missing? Gibbs! Please come for me!_

_Tony…I don't hate you…I wish you knew that. And now I can't tell you because I am here, and you are there. I want you to be my knight in shining armor, my prince, come save me! _

Ziva sighed, as much as she wanted to be saved, she knew that it would be too dangerous for them. She didn't want them to be put into so much trouble and danger just for her. The woman, partner, and friend who betrayed them all. She stabbed them all in the back and hurt them. She deserved to be here.

* * *

The next day the same thing happened. Saleem would come in and spend an hour with Ziva. Ziva trying to block out what was happening to her, but failing miserably. He would leave and she would cry herself to sleep, only to be woken up with a beating.

She knew she would die here. Alone and unhappy. To forget about what was going on and where she was, she would think about all the good times she had with Tony and the team…but mostly Tony.

The time they went undercover as a married couple made her smile. Everyone thought they were acting, but only Tony and she knew the truth. Spending so much time together was fun, it made her feel different, as if she were a normal person and not a trained assassin.

She thought about the time they had to stay up all night looking for a stupid memory stick and she fell asleep on Tony's shoulder, his head falling gently on hers. Gibbs' voice woke them up and they jumped up quickly, not wanting to get caught.

She smiled at this memory, then she thought about the year she had spent wondering what was going on with Tony. He had been seeing someone and she suddenly wasn't interesting to him anymore. She was hurt by this, she thought they had something, then he just runs off with some chick who she had never seen or met. In the end Tony was the one who's heart got broken and she just had to sit by and watch. She tried to help him, but Tony being Tony refused it and said some harsh words to her, which she later forgave him for.

Last year was an interesting one for both of them. While they picked up on their flirty banter, things were still tense between them. She had almost died and Tony tried to comfort her, instead she sought after comfort with another man, and that didn't mean anything to her.

Their trip to Los Angeles was anything but fun. They were on duty and fought constantly. Ziva getting annoyed with Tony's carefree attitude and Tony trying to loosen Ziva up. They had failed at their mission and lost the director because of it. Tony took it the hardest and began drinking a lot and blaming himself for her death, but Ziva was there constantly reminding him that it wasn't his fault.

Director Vance took over, and that's when their relationship fell through the floors. She had to go back to Israel and he became an Agent Afloat. Neither of them kept in contact with each other, and that's where Ziva met Michael.

_Michael._ She thought bitterly. _Tony was right. He was following orders, playing me. I should have listened to him. So much time was wasted on Michael. _

Ziva sighed. There were moments this year that she wouldn't forget. When she saw Tony for the first time since the separation of the team, the way he smiled when he saw her was an image she never wanted to forget, in fact it was one she was holding on to right now.

Then she saw the pictures of her that Tony had taken in California taped up in Tony's quarters. That was when she knew that Tony had to have some kind of attraction to her.

Their closet moment when they were attempting to steal Domino was etched in her brain as if it was yesterday. They were close enough to kiss, but they didn't. She could tell that Tony was jealous and yet she chose to ignore it. All these little moments that she remembered were the things that were keeping her going. They were the only reason she wanted to live.

_If not for me, then for Tony._

She could still remember the look on his face when she threw him to the ground and figured out she loved Michael. It was hurt and regretful. She saw the pain in his eyes, yet she walked away.

_How could I be so cruel to Tony? _Ziva felt a tear stream down her face, and soon many others followed. She cried herself to sleep that night, dreaming of Tony and the better days. The days she was happy and knew that the team loved her. She never wanted to wake up from this dream, but she knew she would be. And the routine would go on…

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**So what did you think? I'd like to hear your thoughts! **


	8. June McGee

**Well here's the next chapter. I thought about just following the episode, Truth or Consequences, but then figured we should get inside the heads of the agents even if we don't see what happened. So I wrote McGee...I still need Gibbs and Abby, but then we can move to July! Yay! Read and Review! let me know what you think!

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McGee sat at his desk, wondering if they would ever find another agent as good as Ziva. Deep down he knew that they wouldn't, but he had to have some kind of hope in finding someone new. She was irreplaceable and McGee knew that trying to replace her would only make things worse and harder on everyone else.

The day had been uneventful, and their newest case seemed like it was going to take a while to figure out. Meth overdoses just didn't happen everyday in the Navy, but for some reason on this ship, it did.

Gibbs allowed Tony and McGee to go home early since nothing came up and there was nothing for them to do until they got more answers. McGee gathered his things and followed Tony into the elevator, looking forward to some rest and relaxation.

Tony and McGee rode the elevator in silence until McGee spoke up, his thoughts becoming to overwhelming and his curiosity was starting to get the best of him.

"Has Ziva emailed you?" He asked innocently, unaware of the tension that would soon flare up.

"No, why?" Tony's head snapped up and he glared at McGee. "Has she emailed you?"

"No. I'm just a little concerned about her. Not hearing from her is unusual. For you it's understandable, but I didn't do anything wrong." McGee answered.

"I may have done some stupid things Probie, but killing Rivkin was not one of them. He was playing her, and he was a threat to us. Who knows what would be going on if I hadn't killed him. And it was self-defense. It's not like I went in there and went trigger happy. I know what I'm doing McGeek!" Tony ranted angrily.

"Sorry. I was just saying." McGee mumbled.

Tony sighed and took a deep breath, letting his breathing calm him down. McGee glanced at Tony nervously, watching as his breathing calmed down and his body wasn't as tensed up.

"Sorry McGee. I'm just frustrated is all." Tony apologized, not saying more.

McGee nodded and looked away, not wanting to cause more problems with Tony. He was just glad that he got an apology from Tony, even though he knew that apologizing took a lot for him to do.

"It's ok to miss her Tony." McGee said as he stepped off the elevator. He missed her too, but he wasn't about to go and announce it to everyone. Especially around Abby. She would get angry with him, but then again, she missed her as much as he did.

* * *

The next day McGee arrived at work a little earlier than usual, he wanted to get some work done so he could let Gibbs know what he found, but he also wanted to see if Ziva had replied to his email. He wasn't surprised when he found none. He sighed and looked up, deciding he wanted to grab a cup of coffee before everyone arrived.

He walked into the elevator and headed of the base to get coffee in peace and to think.

_Ziva, I really do miss you. I wish you'd come back, or at least reply to my emails. I didn't do anything to you. It was Tony. He usually does cause all the problems around here, but I know he did it for you. He won't admit it, and you won't either, but I just want you back here. Who else is going to stand up to Tony for me? Or teach me how to throw a knife, cuz Tony sure as hell can't throw one. _McGee sighed as he thought about Ziva. He was certain that the whole team missed her. Even Gibbs.

McGee finally got up from the small table he was sitting at and threw away his cup, walking back to the base, only to find Tony walking in too.

"Morning Tony." He said politely, hoping that today he'd be in a better mood, which surprisingly he was.

"Good morning McGeek! How was your night? Man I had a great night. Me and Audrey Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart. We had some good times last night. So what do you know about TV's? Are you as technical as you say you are? Or have you been lying to us the whole time? I need your help with my TV. It needs some fixing, and word is that you're able to do it. So could you come over and fix it?" Tony rambled on. McGee just rolled his eyes and listened, trying not to get annoyed with him. He didn't have time to answer, as he was interrupted by Tony's laugh.

"Hahahaha!" Tony laughed as he and McGee walked out of the elevator.

"Tony, I'm not your home theater guy." McGee told Tony, an edge of annoyance in his voice.

"Don't be ridunculous. Of course you're my home theater guy." Tony pulled off his glasses and patted McGee's back.

McGee rolled his eyes and continued walking to his desk, Tony following close behind. Tony never ceased to annoy him, but he rather enjoyed it, in a weird sibling like way. He sighed giving in to Tony.

"Alright you getting a picture?" He asked.

"Yes, just not crisp you know? It's not rich." Tony motioned with his hands, trying to explain that the picture wasn't as great as it could be. McGee just stared at him.

_Tony's an idiot. _He thought.

"Well what's your source? Blue Ray or Satellite?" McGee asked.

"Neither, it's the uh, streaming HD thing from the net fields. The greens are blue, the blues are green. Oranges are pink. And the reds are sorta eggplanty." Tony waved his arms as he explained what was going on with his TV.

"Well it sounds like a problem with your component cables. You streaming through wireless set up cuz if it's HD you really need wireless components." Tony's face scrunched up in confusion as McGee kept going on with all his techno talk. He enjoyed confusing Tony and planned on speaking Geek to him in order to make him look and feel stupid.

"Also plasma, 1080 I? 1080 P?" McGee shook his head, waiting for an answer. Instead Tony kept his stare on McGee, still completely confused.

_Haha! Gotta love geek speak! Tony's face is priceless!_

"Will you just come over and fix it?"

"What's in it for me?" McGee raised his eyebrow. He wanted something out of this, maybe he could make a deal with him that he'll leave him alone and not be picked on so much…

_Yeah right! Tony not picking on me, that'd be the end of the world!_

"Digitally remastered 1955 classic Bad Day At Black Rocks. Spencer Tracy with the one arm." Tony passionately explained and stared at McGee.

"Is that anything like money? Cuz money is what's customarily exchanged for services rendered." He had hoped for a better answer, but knew that Tony would offer him some kind of film.

"It's computers, it's your thing. If I had a thing I'd show it off all the time." Tony reasoned, not realizing what was coming out of his mouth.

"There're rules against that DiNozzo." Gibbs stated as he walked into the bullpen with his coffee. Tony just stared at Gibbs, words escaping him at the moment. McGee looked at Tony and hid a smirk.

"Grab your gear, we got a dead petty officer." Gibbs informed them.

"Uh!" Tony sighed, exasperated and let his head fall back.

"Another meth overdose?" McGee questioned.

"You know as much as I do." Gibbs told him, tucking something into his pocket.

Tony walked to his desk and grabbed his guns from his desk and slung his backpack over his shoulder.

"Tony, now?" McGee asked, nodding his head towards Gibbs.

"Feels like now."

"You wanna go?" McGee tilted his head.

"No, you go I gotta gather my thoughts."

_So he's throwing me to the wolves. Figures. I better get this over with, and hope that I don't escape this with bodily harm._

"Hey boss." McGee nervously called Gibbs.

Gibbs turned around and looked at McGee, a questioning expression on his face. McGee got scared, hoping that he wouldn't get in trouble for what he was about to say. It still was a touchy subject for everyone.

"I think it's time we filled the empty chair."

"Oh you do?" Gibbs looked at McGee and raised his eyebrows.

Tony chose this moment to break in and say a few things. McGee was grateful for that. He figured Tony would let him do all the talking and just watch and laugh at him.

"Yeah we do, it's a, it's the right time to do this, the personnel files are starting to stack up on your desk." Tony quickly explained and reasoned to Gibbs.

Gibbs turned around without a word setting his coffee down and going to his desk. McGee knew that his fear was showing now. Gibbs putting down his coffee was never a good thing. He saw Tony glance at him and frowned, knowing that he was enjoying this moment.

Gibbs picked up all the personnel files and slammed them on Tony's desk.

"Ok. You pick. After we get back."

Tony rushed over to the pile, rubbing his fingers together in excitement.

"Ok first things first, we gotta narrow down perspective agents, it's gotta be a woman."

"Those are just the women." Gibbs told Tony, Tony turning his head to look at Gibbs.

"Are there photos in here boss?" excitement evident in Tony's voice.

"Boss, really? Tony picks? Because you know coming from anyone else that might be considered a lapse in judgment." McGee reasoned with Gibbs as he and Tony followed him into the elevator. Tony picking the next agent wasn't a good idea. If Tony were to pick, he'd end up picking some blonde who wouldn't know anything about working as an NCIS agent.

"Ok you both pick."

"That makes much more sense." McGee's face was relieved as he turned to Tony.

"You don't trust me to be professional?" Tony got really close to Gibbs and McGee knew that Tony was looking for some kind of trust or appraisal.

"No casting couch." Was the reply Gibbs gave to him as he turned to face the elevator doors and sighed in defeat. McGee smirked knowing full well that that meant that Gibbs didn't trust Tony to be professional.

* * *

Tony took pictures at the crime scene while McGee explained to Gibbs who the Petty Officer was.

"Petty Officer Kevin Wingate, disciplined for drug possession. Low quantity."

"Personal use?" Gibbs asked, handing the clipboard back to McGee

"What kind of discipline?" Tony asked as he sorted through the photos on the camera.

"60 day restriction." McGee looked up and told Tony.

"Huh. He hasn't been off the boat?"

"Not in two months." McGee answered, Gibbs turning around and listening intently.

"Well, he didn't get the dose on land, he could've cooked it up himself." Tony reasoned and shrugged, trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"Or someone brought it to him. Shipmates thought he'd cave." Gibbs simply stated, putting in his own theory.

"Guess he fell off." McGee stated.

"We do not guess, Timothy, nor do we assume, presume, conjecture, or prognosticate." Ducky informed McGee as Tony raised his hands and stepped back, allowing him into the tiny quarters.

_I shouldn't have said that, now Ducky's going to be talking and talking about this and giving me a hard time. Maybe I should apologize? _

Ducky walked over to the body and set his bag down, rummaging through it to find the right tools needed for his brief investigation.

"Dilated pupils, profuse sweating…the shirt's still damp. Bring to mind a classmate of mine in medical school." _Here we go…_Tony thought as he heard Ducky begin to talk. "E. Landon Reginald Ellsworth the Third."

Tony peeked into the room, a confused and disturbed expression on his face.

"Nobody's named that." Tony said skeptically.

"Except his father." McGee stated smugly.

"And his father's father." Gibbs finished the statement.

"Reggie concocted his own amphetimines. He liked to use the stuff to keep himself awake while cramming for exams. Ended up a final himself when he passed out seconds before pencils down. Reggie made it, this fellow was not so fortunate."

"Death about six hours ago." Ducky stated, as everyone listened.

"McGee, finish sketching the inventory of Wingate's locker. DiNozzo, duty roster, prints, trace, scour this ship."

"So many tasks, so few hands. Have any of you two heard from Ziva?" Ducky asked casually. McGee looked up quickly, while Tony's gaze hardened a little when his snapped his head up. McGee felt extremely uncomfortable and could feel the tension building in the room. He thought that today would go by without any mention of the lost member.

McGee just shook his head thinking it best not to voice his opinion. He'd rather quietly observe and find things out than speak up and get yelled at by Tony.

"No. You?" Tony replied, a hint of sharpness in his voice.

"No." Ducky sighed. "It's all so very sad, but I suppose the time comes to move on."

"Yeah." Tony's voice was softer, and a little distant McGee noted.

_Poor Tony. I really think there's something going on between the two, but now I'm not so sure. Ziva was pretty angry with him, and if she hasn't replied to any of us, she must really not want anything to do with us anymore. _

McGee walked past Tony, and Tony moved back to let him pass. McGee just sighed and got his work done before Gibbs could come and slap him.

* * *

The next day McGee and DiNozzo began interviewing prospective agents. Each one coming in with confidence. McGee wasn't going to lie and say that the women weren't attractive, but he could see Tony flirting shamelessly as he interviewed them. He wanted to be the more professional of the two.

"Thank you pantsuit girl." Tony grinned and slammed the file down. She nodded at him and smiled. Getting up and walking away. As she walked away, Tony turned to McGee and mouthed, _wow._ McGee raising his hand for the next woman to come and take a seat.

"This is Claire Connell, from the DEA." McGee introduced.

"Pleased to meet you, Special Agent DiNozzo." She held out her hand for him to shake. Tony accepted her handshake and her grip on his hand tightened, crushing his hands and making his fingers and knuckles pop.

"Hi…..oh!" Tony gasped in pain, his face scrunching up. He tried pulling his hand away, but her grip only tightened. McGee watched shocked and a little frightened, glad that it was Tony's hand and not his.

"Tony." He told her, pain still written all over his face as she let go. "We don't really stand on formality here, why don't you take a seat." He clutched his hand, trying to soothe it, then opened it wide stretching it out. "WOWZERS! That's some grip." Tony turned to McGee in panic, trying not to lose his cool. McGee just stifled a laugh and smirked.

McGee turned to her and eyed her curiously, waiting for some kind of explanation. He was definitely amused with this woman. He didn't think she'd make the cut or even think she'd pass Tony's weird rating scale.

"Yeah. I was a pack a day smoker. Quit by occupying my hands with power putty." She pulled one out and started squeezing it. Tony watched as she did so. His eyes widening a little as she squeezed it, which amused McGee even more.

"Wow, demonstrates strong will." McGee turned to Tony, impressed. She nodded in gratitude and smiled. Tony just raised his eyebrows and looked at her file, reading about her.

"Excellent aptitude scores, high reviews from her colleagues at the DEA…" McGee started reading off the file.

"I see that. So why would you want to leave then Claire?" Tony looked up, curious.

"I was involved in a relationship of a more personal nature." She explained. Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise and curiosity, wanting to hear more about this. McGee watched as curiosity took over Tony's features, but he was also curious.

_This woman involved in a personal relationship that caused problems? No way._

"It became difficult for the other party to control their emotions in the work place setting." She looked at Tony with a piercing gaze, almost taunting him.

"Yeah, gotta hate clingy guys." Tony eyed her suspiciously. She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows shaking her head slightly, trying to process what Tony was saying. "Clingy girls?"

McGee shook his head. "He didn't ask."

"So don't tell." Tony quickly added.

"It was interfering with my abilities to perform my duties at the highest level." She continued, ignoring Tony's questions and statement.

"Heh! Sure, sure." Tony chuckled and looked at McGee.

"You know those movies where they have the really beautiful woman, but put her in the big glasses and tie her hair back and have her march around in the big baggy clothes…" She smirked at him as he continued. "But then the turn comes, the penny drops, and the ugly duckling magically transforms into the swan?" Tony finished, questioning if that would be an issue.

"Oh that won't be an issue." She stated, and Tony raised his eyebrows briefly, as if asking her to elaborate on that. "I find that my looks have the tendency to prevent people from taking me seriously."

McGee looked at Tony, raising his eyebrows. He wasn't sure how this whole scenario was relevant. But as he thought about it more, he could understand that Tony was trying to make sure that he wouldn't be involved with her in any way. He shook his head slightly, wondering how much Ziva's departure was really bothering him.

_More than me that's for sure, but we're all hurting in our own way. Sometimes I feel like Tony's just vying _for_ attention. He is selfish most of the time, not really caring for other's feelings._

"That's fantastic." Tony replied to her story. McGee actually agreeing with him.

"She has my vote." Tony turned to McGee and told him. McGee looked at him with surprise.

_Really? This is definitely not who I would have thought Tony would choose, the last girl, what did he call her? Pant suit girl, was more of his taste. Ok, well if that's who he thinks, I agree with him._

"Really?"

"Really." Tony answered, keeping his voice nonchalant.

"Alright. Ok, let's start the on the job training. Of course Agent Gibbs will make the final decision. Let's go see him." She smiled and gave an excited, relieved sigh as she stood up.

"Thank you so much for the opportunity." She stuck her hand out to Tony.

Tony looked at her hand nervously and smiled.

"Ok." He raised his hand and chuckled nervously, not wanting to shake her hand. McGee chuckled quietly to himself so Tony wouldn't hear him and get angry.

"Right this way." McGee guided her to the conference room.

McGee let her into the conference room and turned to Tony.

" You know it's all about chemistry. Zing…the ssss…pa!" Tony expressively explained, his arms crossed and his goofy demeanor obvious at the moment.

"What is pa?" McGee asked.

"Pa. You know?" Tony assured him he knew, but explained anyway, walking backwards and around McGee as he did so. "Gotta know to zig while I zag." Tony moved in a zig zag, showing McGee what he means. "Gotta know to bob when you weave. Rock when he rolls." Tony pointed to McGee and threw a thumb over his shoulder. "That's the pa of it all….PA!" Tony slapped his arms onto McGee's shoulders and gripped him.

"She's unflappable." McGee reasoned.

"She's unflappable." Tony shrugged his shoulders and let go of McGee, agreeing with him.

Just as he said that, Claire came running out of the conference room, crying. Coming between him and McGee and shoving them aside. Gibbs followed not to far behind. Tony and McGee watched as she ran off.

_Well so much for being unflappable. She's no way near Ziva, or even Kate. They both could handle Gibbs, and even at times render him speechless. Although I must say that seeing Tony's expression and loss for words right now is all worth it. Heh! I bet he didn't see that coming. _

"Strike one!" Gibbs smacked Tony with the file, handing it to him. Tony not looking at him, but still staring where Claire had ran past. Both McGee and him speechless and feeling awkward.

McGee didn't even think about being embarrassed. He was so used to it by now that it didn't bother him as much anymore, but seeing Tony embarrassed and speechless made him feel a whole lot better.

_Haha! Tony looks just as stupid as I do for once! This is a moment I'm going to remember for a long time!

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**So what did you think? Sorry for the longer update, but I have been busy and haven't had time to write, hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon! **_


	9. June Gibbs

**Alright everyone! Here's the next chapter! I'm glad you all are enjoying this story. And thank you for all of those who review! This chapter was a little harder to write, I find Gibbs a hard character to write, but I got it done, and here it is. Let me know what you think! **

**I wish I owned NCIS...maybe if I pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars, I will get my wish ;) And that disclaimer doesn't even belong to me...haha!

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Gibbs was getting frustrated with everyone. He knew that Vance wanted him to start looking through prospective female agents, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it yet. He really wanted to hear back from Ziva, to make sure she was ok and to hear that she wanted to come back. It has already been a month and he still hasn't heard anything from her, which really is unusual, however after the way they departed, he isn't surprised she hasn't come in contact with anyone.

He understands that she is angry with him, maybe almost as angry as she is with Tony, but not trying to contact anyone is just ridiculous for her. There's still Abby, McGee, and Ducky that she can talk to. As far as he knew, she hasn't even tried to email them or call them.

He is trying to fight that small gut feeling that he has that something is seriously wrong. He doesn't want to think that way, he'd rather have it that she's still angry and thinking about everything that's happened, but deep down he feels that she's in danger, maybe even hurt.

Gibbs sighs as he thinks about all the work he had today. Their newest case definitely has been irksome and tiring. They know that there is a dealer among the crew, but they can't seem to figure out who it is or where the drug is coming from.

Gibbs started thinking back to when they first arrived on the ship. People weren't cooperative at all, and most of the Petty Officers were standoffish and closed up. They headed down to the second level to find an enraged and extremely doped up Petty Officer fighting off other men. Gibbs sent in McGee and DiNozzo to take him down, but they struggled.

_Gibbs sent McGee and DiNozzo into the work out room to handle the chaos that the Petty Officer was creating. He stayed back to question the Commanding Officer, his coffee in his left hand. He saw the hesitation and uncertainty on his agents' faces as they looked into the room. The commotion was loud enough to hear from the short distance away he was. _

"_You hit him high, I'll hit him low." DiNozzo loudly told McGee_

"_I don't like the sound of that." McGee answered fearfully._

"_You hit him low, I'll hit him high." DiNozzo quickly changed his command._

_The two of them rushed in and tried taking the Petty Officer down. The only thing Gibbs could hear were the grunts of both his agents and the Petty Officer. Not knowing what was going on in there or what was taking them so long to contain him, Gibbs quickly walked to the room, a small smirk on his face as he saw McGee clinging onto the Petty Officer's leg, being dragged with it, and DiNozzo trying to choke out the guy. As soon as he saw the Petty Officer pull the knife out of his leg Gibbs reacted._

_Gibbs grabbed the Petty Officer's wrist, stopping him from making another move and took out his leg, the man falling onto the ground. He quickly put his foot to his neck and left it there until the Officer was unconscious. After finding the situation under control and his agents safe, he removed his foot._

"_Peace of cake." McGee panted._

"_Simple as pie." Tony quipped, also panting. Trying to get the Petty Officer off of him._

"_Smooth as silk." McGee continued. Gibbs had to control the urge to roll his eyes._

_Gibbs shook his head and let his agents take care of things as he walked out of the room without a word. He knew that if Ziva were here, she probably would have taken the officer down just as quick as he did, but he shook all thoughts of Ziva out of his head and concentrated on the job at hand. _

_They brought the Petty Officer back to NCIS for interrogation. After getting no where with him, Gibbs decided to nurse the officer back to health before questioning him again. Ducky quickly agreed with Gibbs, thus ending the investigation for the day._

Gibbs shook his head. This case shouldn't be taking this long to solve. Most cases only take a few days at most, but this was getting ridiculous. They hadn't gotten any information from the Petty Officer or his team. On top of that, they just got another report of a meth overdose.

Gibbs made his way down to the bullpen. Hoping that his team was actually on time. He came down just as DiNozzo was talking to McGee, saying what sounded to him, something inappropriate.

"If I had a thing I'd show it off all the time." Tony was telling McGee.

"There are rules against that DiNozzo." Gibbs quickly told Tony.

_I don't even want to know what he's talking about…_Gibbs thought as he walked to his desk and grabbed his gear.

"Grab your gear, we got a dead petty officer." Gibbs informed them.

"Uh!" Tony sighed, exasperated and let his head fall back.

"Another meth overdose?" McGee questioned.

"You know as much as I do." Gibbs told him, tucking something into his pocket.

"Tony, now?" McGee asked, nodding his head towards Gibbs.

"Feels like now."

"You wanna go?" McGee asked.

"No, you go I gotta gather my thoughts." Tony made up and excuse.

_What are they babbling on about now?_ Gibbs thought, annoyed.

"Hey boss." McGee nervously called Gibbs, Gibbs could hear the fear and hesitation in his voice.

He turned to McGee and looked at him, waiting for him to complete his thought so they could get a move on.

"I think it's time we filled the empty chair." McGee continued. Gibbs just looked at him, knowing that it probably was about time, but not ready to face that yet.

"Oh you do?" Gibbs looked at McGee and raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah we do, it's a, it's the right time to do this, the personnel files are starting to stack up on your desk." Tony quickly explained and reasoned to Gibbs.

Gibbs turned around without a word setting his coffee down and going to his desk. He grabbed a stack of files and slammed them onto Tony's desk.

_If they want a new agent, they're gonna pick. I'm still giving Ziva time, but these two are obviously anxious for another team member._

"Ok. You pick. After we get back."

Tony rushed over to the pile, rubbing his fingers together in excitement.

"Ok first things first, we gotta narrow down perspective agents, it's gotta be a woman."

"Those are just the women." Gibbs told Tony, Tony turning his head to look at Gibbs.

"Are there photos in here boss?" excitement evident in Tony's voice.

"Boss, really? Tony picks? Because you know coming from anyone else that might be considered a lapse in judgment." McGee reasoned with Gibbs as he and Tony followed him into the elevator.

"Ok you both pick."

_McGee does have a point._

"That makes much more sense." McGee's face was relieved as he turned to Tony.

"You don't trust me to be professional?" Tony got really close to Gibbs, seeking some kind of trust.

_No, I really don't Tony._

"No casting couch." Was the reply Gibbs gave to him as he turned to face the elevator doors and sighed in defeat.

* * *

McGee was explaining to Gibbs who the dead Petty Officer was, while he had Tony taking crime scene photos.

"Petty Officer Kevin Wingate, disciplined for drug possession. Low quantity."

"Personal use?" Gibbs asked, handing the clipboard back to McGee

"What kind of discipline?" Tony asked as he sorted through the photos on the camera.

"60 day restriction." McGee looked up and told Tony.

"Huh. He hasn't been off the boat?"

"Not in two months." McGee answered, Gibbs turning around and listening intently.

"Well, he didn't get the dose on land, he could've cooked it up himself." Tony reasoned and shrugged, trying to figure out exactly what happened.

"Or someone brought it to him. Shipmates thought he'd cave." Gibbs simply stated, putting in his own theory.

"Guess he fell off." McGee stated.

"We do not guess, Timothy, nor do we assume, presume, conjecture, or prognosticate." Ducky informed McGee as Tony raised his hands and stepped back, allowing him into the tiny quarters.

Ducky walked over to the body and set his bag down, rummaging through it to find the right tools needed for his brief investigation.

"Dilated pupils, profuse sweating…the shirt's still damp. Bring to mind a classmate of mine in medical school."

_Here we go…_Gibbs thought as Ducky began to ramble on.

"E. Landon Reginald Ellsworth the Third."

Tony peeked into the room, a confused and disturbed expression on his face. This amused Gibbs and he hid a smirk.

"Nobody's named that." Tony retorted.

"Except his father." McGee stated.

"And his father's father." Gibbs finished the statement.

"Reggie concocted his own amphetimines. He liked to use the stuff to keep himself awake while cramming for exams. Ended up a final himself when he passed out seconds before pencils down. Reggie made it, this fellow was not so fortunate."

Gibbs loved Ducky as a brother, but his continuous talking sometimes got on his nerves. He would admit that at times Ducky's storied intrigued him, but not while they were on the job.

"Death about six hours ago." Ducky continued, examining the body.

"McGee, finish sketching the inventory of Wingate's locker. DiNozzo, duty roster, prints, trace, scour this ship." Gibbs walked past DiNozzo exiting the small quarters, looking for some answers from the crew.

* * *

The next day Gibbs spent the morning in the conference room, watching as the Director interviewed the Petty Officer. He knew that Tony and McGee were downstairs interviewing prospective female agents, and he was trying to keep his mind off the betrayal he felt towards Ziva. He didn't want to lose her trust, but it seems he already has.

It had been an hour that he was up in the conference room when he heard a knock on the door.

"Uh boss, this is Claire Connell. She's here for an interview with you. Both Tony and I think she has the potential to be on our team." McGee nervously introduced Claire.

She stuck out her hand for a handshake, and Gibbs just looked at it, nodding his head for her to come in.

"Close the door behind you McGee." Gibbs told him.

Gibbs studied this girl. She seemed ok, but he just didn't feel that she would work well on the team. He had to test her.

"You really think you got what it takes to be on my team?" Gibbs questioned, watching her body language. She seemed confident enough, but he'd break that.

"Yes I do. I have credentials and am a skilled worker, despite my one slip up at my old work." She replied confidently.

"Oh really?" Gibbs tilted his head. She just looked at him and raised an eyebrow, not understanding him.

"You strong?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes I am. Took down my brothers when we would fight."

"Take me down." Gibbs instructed. She hesitated, but set her hand putty down and walked towards Gibbs. He could see in her eyes that she was hesitant about this and that she didn't know where to start.

_Hesitancy is not a strong suit. She won't make it. _

Claire stepped forward and threw a punch at Gibbs, Gibbs quickly reacting and grabbing her wrist. He put his foot behind her leg and pushed her down. He heard her gasp as she hit the ground.

"You think you're tough, but if you can't even counter a simple attack like that, you're not good enough to be on my team. I'd suggest you learn how to fight before coming back again. Understand?" Gibbs informed her, rather rudely.

She stood up and grabbed her putty, tears forming in her eyes. She quickly made her way to the door and threw it open, sobbing loudly.

_DiNozzo better do better than this next time. This is his first strike, next time he picks someone so pathetic, I'm gonna do the picking._

Gibbs grabbed her file and walked out, finding a stunned McGee and DiNozzo watching as Claire fled.

"Strike one!" Gibbs smacked the file on DiNozzo and stalked off angrily.

_No one can take Ziva's place. If she wants her spot back, I'll gladly give it to her, but she needs to realize and understand her mistakes first. I can't have weak, pathetic agents on my team. Ziva could teach McGee and DiNozzo a thing or two._

Gibbs shook his head. He couldn't keep comparing agents to her. Yes she was an excellent agent, but she chose not to trust him or the team. She betrayed them and herself. And Gibbs knew that she needs to figure this out on her own before she can come back. However long that would take, he would wait for her…if she ever did figure it out.

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**So what did you think? I know I want to know what Gibbs did to make her cry, I'm sure he said things to her, but I can't imagine what...so this is what I think happened...or at least imagined what happened...please review!**


	10. June Abby

**Here's the next chapter...Abby! This was a harder chapter to write since I didn't have anything to go off of from the episode...she wasn't shown in June, so I just wrote a quick scene. Hope you all like it and I'm glad you are enjoying this story! Read and Review!

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Abby was angry and hurt. She couldn't understand how Gibbs could leave a team member behind. A month had slowly and painfully gone by and she hadn't heard anything from Ziva, it shocked her and hurt her. Ziva always, always replied to emails or called her back. Abby had never been given the cold shoulder by Ziva…except for when she first came to NCIS. Abby couldn't stand Ziva, but things changed and Ziva quickly became one of her best friends.

Abby was keeping track of the days that went by. Thirty-six days had gone by since the departure of Ziva, and it was getting frustrating having to deal with all these losses. First Kate, who she misses dearly, died. Not long after that Gibbs left the team to "retire" and do who knows what on a beach in Mexico. Then Jenny dies in Los Angeles. Now Ziva left, and no one has heard anything from her.

"Ziva I miss you. You gave me a tazer to protect myself, and you taught me how to shoot well. Are you mad at me or something? Why haven't you answered my emails or calls?" Abby whispered quietly to herself.

She knew that there was a job to get done, and she'd get there…eventually, but thinking about Ziva always depressed her. She hadn't been this depressed since Kate and Jenny's death.

_Oh no! What if something happened to Ziva? What if she's hurt or worse…dead? No! She can't be! Maybe she just needs time to think and cool off…but not trusting Tony? What the hell was she thinking? Of course she can trust him! Tony is her partner! If only I could knock some sense into her! JEALOUS! TONY! NO! He cares about her…and possibly loves her…but no she doesn't trust us. She chooses to not trust us…_

Abby's thoughts were cut off by Gibbs.

"Abs. I need you to take a look at this." He handed her an evidence bag with a shirt in it.

"What's this?" She asked halfheartedly.

"A Petty Officer's undershirt. I need you to trace any evidence of meth and see if you can find anything else. We need to find out who's dealing on this ship. And now that another Petty Officer overdosed, we know this is serious." Gibbs informed her, studying her while he did so.

"Ok, I'll get it back to you as soon as I can." Abby quickly replied, signing the evidence log and taking out the shirt.

"Abs?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Abby glanced up briefly before rushing at her work.

"Gibbs."

"What's going on?" Gibbs gently asked and approached her.

"Nothing." Abby quickly replied, but sighed. "Gibbs, I haven't heard from her. Why haven't I heard from her? Did I do something wrong? She never ignores my emails or calls, but she hasn't returned either. And what if something's wrong? Or what if she stays mad forever and doesn't ever contact us again. I can't lose another friend Gibbs, I can't. I have lost too many already." Abby quickly babbled, Gibbs pulling her in for a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"She'll come around." Gibbs simply answered.

"I hope so Gibbs. I miss her so much. Things aren't the same around here, everyone is all weird about it, and it's driving me crazy! It's making me crazy just thinking about everyone acting crazy, and the thing is, I'm just as weird as everyone else…weird in a different way cuz obviously I am already weird, but that's not the point…I'm acting like everyone else is. Distant and snappy. I'm never snappy Gibbs. I'm happy, I'm supposed to be happy. And I'm not right now. I hate seeing Tony pretend he's ok. And I can tell that McGee is missing Ziva too. And you…don't even get me started on you! You are avoiding all of this! You left her there Gibbs. You! Not Tony. Not Vance. And I still don't understand why!"

"Abs…" Gibbs tried to cut her off.

"No! Don't Abs me! I know that she said that she doesn't trust Tony, but she'd get over that. She has to! If she's ever gonna come back, she needs to learn to trust him, to trust us!" Abby started to cry, and Gibbs hugged Abby.

"I know you miss her. And I left her there to realize that she needs us. Until then we need to go on with our lives and do our job. We'll wait for her." Gibbs assured Abby, hoping that she will feel better.

"I sure hope so." Abby mumbled as she pulled out of Gibbs embrace.

"Now get to work." Gibbs softly told her as he began to walk out of the lab, but turned around at the last minute and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Sure thing Gibbs." Abby whispered. As soon as Gibbs was out of sight and she heard the ding of the elevator, she slumped down into her chair and stared at the computer screen. She knew she needed to pull herself together and get to work, Gibbs was right. Ziva needed time and they had to go on with their lives. But Ziva deserved at least another five minutes of mourning, so she sat there in a daze until she heard the ding of the elevator again.

"Hey Abby." Tony whispered. Abby turned around and put on a big smile, pulling up her hair and tying them in pigtails.

"Tony! What are you doing here so soon? I haven't even gotten a chance to get any work done." Abby tilted her head curiously at Tony and watched as he pulled a Caf-Pow from behind his back. A huge smile appeared on her face and she snatched it from Tony.

"Thought I'd bring you a pick me up." Tony shrugged as Abby hugged him.

"Thanks Tony!"

"Yeah, well I know this month has been difficult for you."

"And for you." Abby quickly added becoming serious. She knew Tony was suffering, just as much as she was. She could see it in his eyes and posture. But today there was something different about him. He seemed to be back to his old self.

"Have you heard from Ziva?" Abby couldn't help but ask. Surely that is why Tony seemed back to normal.

Tony's eyes immediately lost their sparkle and he frowned. "No, why? Have you?"

"No. I thought she would have contacted me right away, but still nothing. And with your normal self I figured you heard from her. You've been all weird lately, and not just you, but Gibbs and McGee are being weird too. So I figured that since you seem back to normal Tony, you heard from her or something."

"No, no one has heard from her. Not even Ducky." Tony told her.

"Oh, well maybe soon then? She has to. She can't stay mad forever, well maybe at you, but she has no right to be angry! You protected her, you were looking out for her! Although you did kill her boyfriend, but still Tony! You look out for her and have her back! You're her partner! She will contact us! Don't worry about it!" Abby nodded her head as she furrowed her eyebrows.

Tony shook his head amused and a little sad. Abby noticed this and hugged him.

"Don't worry Tony. Things will be ok. Now go or I'll never get my work done and Gibbs will be mad." Abby pushed him out of the lab and ran back to the evidence, quickly getting to work.

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**There you go! Again a shorter chapter, but I really wasn't sure how to handle this...but I hope you enjoyed it...**


	11. July Gibbs

**Sorry it's taking me longer than usual to update, I've just been busy. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter, it's starting to get into more of their suspicions that something is wrong with Ziva...hope you enjoy it! Please read and review! Thanks to all those who are reading and reviewing! It means a lot to me! **

**Nope, don't own NCIS...if I did, Tony would be mine! haha ;)

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July

Gibbs couldn't believe that two months went by already. Ziva still hadn't called or emailed him. He thought she would get over it by now, and realize that Gibbs only did it for her. He wanted her to realize that she can trust the team. She can trust Tony, and she could definitely trust him. However, he hadn't heard from her, and he wondered if she made her final decision about coming back to NCIS.

_Give her more time Gibbs…_he told himself.

He knew that Vance would be all over him, telling him that he needs to pick a replacement. Unfortunately Gibbs was starting to think it might be time for that. He really wanted to hold off until he heard back from Ziva, but her not communicating with him was starting to get ridiculous!

They had been looking, DiNozzo had many candidates, but both Tony and he knew that no one could replace Ziva.

_What is it with females and me? First Shannon and Kelly, then Kate, Jenny, now Ziva? Why is it that the women that mean most to me are either killed or leave?_ Gibbs thought bitterly.

He left the bullpen, leaving Tony and McGee doing research on the case, which was surprisingly lasting longer than a few days. He glanced at his team while he was climbing the stairs and watched as Tony routinely did his work, a certain spark lost in his eyes since Ziva left. Gibbs sighed and shook his head.

_Rule number 12._

McGee seemed to be handling Ziva's departure well. And Abby, poor Abby was having a hard time with this. Gibbs felt bad that she was suffering so much, he knew that she was even a little angry with him, but he had done the right thing. Trust is something that is built, and Ziva needed to learn that.

Gibbs walked into Vance's office and sat down, waiting for him to arrive so they could talk.

"You got an update on the meth read?" Vance asked as he walked in. Gibbs turned to him briefly before turning back around.

"Petty Officer Demarco is recovering." He answered, taking a sip from his coffee.

"Question him today, I'm hoping he could shed some light, at least on who put the knife in him." Vance told Gibbs, opening the door to his office.

"One set of prints Leon." Gibbs informed Vance, explaining that there couldn't have been anyone else who stabbed him.

"He was so out of his mind that he stabbed himself?" Gibbs could hear the skepticism in his boss' voice and smirked.

"Been hitting a lot of dead ends." Vance continued to say as Gibbs followed him into his office.

"Yeah well we've been one short." Gibbs replied, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"How goes the search for David's replacement?" Vance asked, acting nonchalant about the whole situation.

"DiNozzo's got a new candidate, you heard anything about Ziva?" Curiosity got the best of Gibbs as he asked Vance about Ziva. Surely he has heard from her, or at least Eli. He has to know something.

"No. Two months in the dark now. But Mossad tends to operate behind a veil of secrecy."

"You've confirmed she's part of Mossad again." Gibbs doubted that Vance would look into it. He didn't care for Ziva as much as Gibbs did. Gibbs loved his team as his own family, not knowing what was going on with Ziva was killing him, as well as his team.

"Yeah, I believe so."

_That's not a good enough answer. He either has confirmed or he hasn't…believing so doesn't mean he knows so…_

Gibbs was getting slightly irritated. He wanted to know about Ziva. Something wasn't right, he could feel it.

"Field?" Gibbs started fishing for answers, hoping to get more than one word replies.

"Likely."

"But you haven't heard anything? You've got a good relationship with Director David" Gibbs questioned, feeling doubtful.

"You figured the subject of his daughter must have come up." Vance eyed Gibbs suspiciously.

Gibbs was watching Vance intently. He was watching his body language as if to see if he was lying to him or not. Vance not hearing about Ziva made him suspicious and doubtful of his honesty.

"Man's gotta have feelings, about putting her back in the field." Gibbs shrugged.

"Well he must be sharing them with somebody else if he does. Eli's being tight lipped about it." Vance replied, walking around his desk, picking up a remote and turning on the TV. Gibbs walked over to it and looked at what was on the screen.

"Like you, Leon?" Gibbs casually asked. Something wasn't right, his gut was telling him so. Vance turned to Gibbs and looked at him.

"I don't have anything to share." He answered, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"But you think he does." Gibbs stated more than asked.

"And I'm tap dancing around the edges." Gibbs could feel Vance's gaze on him, but he simply took another sip of his coffee, shrugging at Leon's answer.

"Yeah I know how that goes." Gibbs said as he walked out of Vance's office. He was angry with him, he felt that Leon knew more than he was letting on, and it was time to do some research of his own. He quickly headed to MTAC, after telling McGee to interrogate the Petty Officer.

* * *

Gibbs quickly asked the technician to call up Agent Chad Dunham. He started a conversation with him, asking about the increased occurrence of Mossad officers there. Maybe Ziva was in Africa now.

"Looks like they pulled up stakes, haven't been able to determine where they've settled, if they resettled." Chad informed Gibbs.

"Captives?" Gibbs asked, as he heard the door behind him open and close.

"Possibly. NCIS confirmed the presence of a woman. No ID and no idea whether or not she's still with them."

"You're doing a bang up job there Chad." Gibbs smirked and congratulated him.

"I'm a long way from Dubai Gibbs. Our local network tends to rely on nomads roaming the desert, they don't tend to like our face much. Though they'd respect mine more than they would yours."

"You think so huh?" Gibbs was amused with Chad. He was an interesting fellow, but he like him.

"One look at that baby smooth skin and they might think they've spotted another girl." Dunham teased.

"Careful. Don't go getting all native on me out there Dunham." Gibbs ended the conversation with a cut off motion with his hands.

"Chad reporting from Chad." DiNozzo tried to be witty, but not amusing Gibbs, handing him a file. "Next up, Captain Rebecca 'Becky' Hastings. U.S Airforce." Tony informed Gibbs of their new candidate.

"Fighter jock." Gibbs stated, looking at her file.

"Yeah, grounded for medical. Natural born thrill seeker." Tony nodded in amusement, thinking about that. Gibbs glanced from Tony, happy to see the old Tony returning a little. "Likes to live on the edge, takes risks. Pretty eyes. Thinks NCIS might offer her some new challenges. Real daredevil." Tony finished, looking up.

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked, after reading through Hastings' file. He looked up at DiNozzo curious to see what his Senior Agent had to say. Maybe now he'd get over the loss of Ziva.

"Oh, uh, well…women." He stuttered and grinned.

Gibbs gave him a warm smile, studying Tony in the process. He chuckled and continued studying him.

"Yeah." He softly replied, looking at the file again.

"Yeah" Tony whispered, still smiling before making a pensive face and making a clicking noise with his mouth. He quietly sighed and nodded towards the screen.

"So what was that about? With Dunham." Tony curiously asked. Gibbs was waiting for him to ask that. He knew that Tony would want to be in the loop and his curiosity would get the best of him. Gibbs looked up at his Senior Agent, wondering just how much he should tell him. Ziva was a touchy subject for all of them, and if his suspicions were correct, this could be a painful subject.

"Tracking terrorist training camps in the Sahara Desert." Gibbs decided to be vague until he figured things out.

Tony stared at Gibbs, trying to figure things out, and Gibbs could see the questioning in his Senior Field Agent's eyes. He was prepared to be as evasive about the subject for now. Gibbs had a slight suspicion that Ziva was in that camp, but he didn't want to bring anything up until he knew for sure, but then it might be too late…

"And the woman you were talking about, the captive, uh, any theory who she is?" Tony asked. Gibbs, knowing that Tony was starting to suspect what he himself was suspecting, decided to fill him in a little, but avoided his gaze.

"Dunham says that Mossad presence has increased in North Africa." Gibbs informed Tony, looking up from the file in his hands and at his Senior Agent.

"Prepping an offensive?" Tony asked.

"Or course correction cleaning up a failure." Gibbs quickly added, keeping things to himself wasn't working at the moment.

"What kind of failure?" Tony was looking at Gibbs suspiciously and Gibbs knew that Tony was catching onto something. Gibbs just kept his gaze on Tony and replied.

"The kind with casualties." Gibbs' stare never faltering or moving from Tony's face.

"Is that all you know?" Gibbs could see in Tony's eyes the confusion and thinking that was going on in his head. He knew that Tony was doing this because he wanted to make sure that Ziva wasn't the one there in that camp. Gibbs is just as concerned about her as Tony is, but he wasn't certain that it was her there, but his gut was screaming that something is wrong.

Gibbs didn't respond to Tony's question, instead he kept looking at his agent, a small, apologetic smile on his face as he looked away.

"That's all you can tell me. I got it." Tony stated and sighed quickly. "Alright. You know the Arabic word for desert is sahara, so sahara desert is actually desert desert. A lot of sand." Tony rambled on as he walked out of MTAC, leaving Gibbs sitting in the chair.

Gibbs thoughts were running wild. Every time he thought about the desert, he kept picturing Ziva there, possibly dead. However he felt that if she were dead, he'd know. His gut told him she wasn't dead, but that same gut that said she's alive also said that she's in trouble. He just didn't know how to deal with it.

Now that Tony has a creeping suspicion, Gibbs knows that he'll be looking at it, and if Tony finds out anything, it will give Gibbs the excuse he needs to do research and find Ziva.

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**There you have it! What did you think? Any suggestions! Leave your reviews! :D**


	12. July Tony

**Yay! New chapter up! It's getting closer to rescuing Ziva! :O Hope you enjoy this chapter...I always like to write Tony. He seems so predictable and easy to read...anyways, read and review! Let me know what you think! Thanks to all you readers and reviewers! You make it worth while! :D**

**I wish I owned NCIS...but I don't :( *sadface*

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Tony came into the office not really expecting to get much out of the Petty Officer. On top of that, he had to deal with the new trainee. She wasn't his top pick, but by now he wasn't getting too picky. He'd let Gibbs deal with them and support his final decision. In fact, he was really just doing this to stall and make Vance "happy."

He was getting tired of looking for a new replacement. How can you replace the irreplaceable? You just can't. Tony was growing tired of it all, and he just wanted to hear from Ziva, to know that she's doing well and he could only hope that she would want back.

DiNozzo was sitting at his desk when he saw Gibbs walking up the stairs, going to the director's office.

_Hmm…maybe Gibbs will get something out of Vance. That man has too many secrets. And he's definitely hiding something. He probably has information on Ziva._ Tony watched until he could no longer see his boss.

McGee came in, carrying two coffees. He handed one to Tony and walked to his desk.

"Thanks Probie." Tony loudly thanked him before taking a sip. "What's in the schedule for today?"

"Well you have the new trainee today. She should be here soon." McGee responded, his eyes never leaving his computer.

"Why can't you handle it?" Tony whined, walking to McGee's desk and leaning over his shoulder.

"Because you wanted to be in charge. Remember?"

"But that was before. This is now. Now is different. Come on McProbster. Time to be a man. Grow up. Live large." Tony was rambling when Gibbs came down, barking orders.

"McGee! Interview the Petty Officer. Tony! Go train the trainee!" Gibbs left no time for a response, quickly heading to MTAC.

McGee smirked and raised his eyebrow at Tony, who reciprocated with a growl and a glare.

"You got lucky this time McGeek." Tony quickly walked to the elevator where the trainee was waiting.

"Hey. I'm Anthony DiNozzo. Follow me, we're going to be observing today."

"Observing what?" She asked.

"You'll see." Tony rolled his eyes and lead her to the observation room. He really didn't want to do this.

They watched and listened as McGee began the information. Tony noted that he was taking notes, and even though he's known McGee for six years now, he just realized that he was left handed.

"Huh." Tony accidently said out loud.

"What?"

"Oh uh, nothing. I was just uh, nothing." Tony quickly said.

She just shrugged and watched as McGee continued. Tony sighed inwardly and continued watching. He wondered how much he actually paid attention to McGee, and not only McGee, but everyone else. What small details had he missed. Was Ziva right handed or left handed. Did she prefer chapstick or Burt's Bees? Did she wear mascara?

All these little details he couldn't remember, and he felt that he had taken everything for granted. He wasn't going to let details go by so unnoticed now.

"Someone must have slipped them in my orange juice." Tony was snapped back into the present as he heard this.

"Why would they do that?" McGee asked, Tony cocked his head, wondering the same thing.

"Isn't that how you take 'em?" the Petty Officer asked.

"Where'd you see that?"

"I think it was an episode of 90210." He stated.

Tony chuckled inwardly. _90210? Please. He needs to watch some good shows. That's such a crappy show. Heh. I should teach him a thing or two._

"I never really liked that show. And my cup of tea." Tony turned to the woman and stated.

"Hm." She simply mumbled. Briefly looking at him. "So how come Agent McGee is conducting the interrogation?"

"We prefer the word interview, interrogation, uh, has a negative association." He told her, shrugging at the end.

"Ok got. So what do they call these rooms?" She turned to ask him, getting smart with him.

"Observation." Tony knew what she was getting at, but decided to lead her around in a circle.

"And the other side of the glass?" She smirked.

"Haha. Not everything has a name."

"I thought I heard someone refer to it as interrogation." She stated smugly.

_What's with this chick?_

"Well maybe that's some kind of informal short." He waved his hand as if to five more meaning to what he was saying. Tony was getting tired of her insistence. Did it really matter whether it's interrogation or interview? They're all suspects either way.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, Agent McGee's softening the big guy up for the bigger guy. Agent Gibbs is going to crack him." Tony chuckled softly. He always admired the way Gibbs could do that. And she would see Gibbs' true power too, if she lasted that long.

"For what? Buying the wrong hit of meth? This guy doesn't know anything about anything." She stated.

Tony raised his brows and turned to her, tapping his fingers on the file he was clutching. She has so much to learn, and he didn't think she'd last that long.

"You expect him to give up his dealer?"

"Well let's see if you can figure it out." _You think you've got things so figured out now, how about later, when it all comes together. Then we'll see who's right._ Tony challenged.

"Is this some sort of test?" She asked, eyeing him flirtatiously.

"You like tests?" Tony's flirting instincts immediately began to kick in. He smirked and watched her carefully.

"Is that some sort of test?" She deepened her voice and inched a little closer to him.

Tony got nervous, especially after picturing Ziva standing right there asking the same question. She had never been intimidated by him. She easily shot back anything he sent her way and she would even flirt back with him. This whole situation was making him feel uncomfortable.

No one was supposed to be able to easily flirt back and shoot things back at him like this. Ziva was the only one who had mastered it well. Even Kate couldn't. She would get angry or annoyed and "tattle" on him. But not Ziva. Ziva was a woman, a woman who allowed her feminism to kick in.

He looked at the woman standing in front of him and swallowed uncomfortably. He backed away from her and thought of the best way to get out of there.

He swallowed hard. "No. I mean it's, I mean everything's a test. Excuse me. Excuse me." Tony nervously responded and turned around, quickly exiting the observation room.

_Next time, Probie is dealing with the woman. I am not going to deal with her again, and what was with that. The way she seductively came on to me. So totally unprofessional! _

Tony made his way to MTAC, wanting to check in on Gibbs and also knowing that she wouldn't be able to get in. He opened the door to find Gibbs talking to Agent Dunham. He heard Gibbs question him. He closed the door and slowly walked in.

"Captives?" Gibbs asked, as he heard the door behind him open and close.

"Possibly. NCIS confirmed the presence of a woman. No ID and no idea whether or not she's still with them."

_What? Why is Gibbs looking into this? The woman couldn't be…no it couldn't. We would know if it were her. She can't be a captive…_

"You're doing a bang up job there Chad." Gibbs smirked and congratulated him.

"I'm a long way from Dubai Gibbs. Our local network tends to rely on nomads roaming the desert, they don't tend to like our face much. Though they'd respect mine more than they would yours."

"You think so huh?"

"One look at that baby smooth skin and they might think they've spotted another girl." Dunham teased.

"Careful. Don't go getting all native on me out there Dunham." Gibbs ended the conversation with a cut off motion with his hands. Tony walked towards Gibbs.

"Chad reporting from Chad." DiNozzo tried to be witty, but not amusing Gibbs, handing him a file. "Next up, Captain Rebecca 'Becky' Hastings. U.S Airforce." Tony informed Gibbs of their new candidate.

"Fighter jock." Gibbs stated, looking at her file.

"Yeah, grounded for medical. Natural born thrill seeker." Tony nodded in amusement, thinking about that.

"Likes to live on the edge, takes risks. Pretty eyes. Thinks NCIS might offer her some new challenges. Real daredevil." Tony finished, looking up.

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked, after reading through Hastings' file. He looked up at DiNozzo, a curious look on his face. Tony was thrown off guard by this question, but not wanting to alarm his boss, he decided to go with his "Old DiNozzo" response.

"Oh, uh, well…women." He stuttered and grinned.

Gibbs gave him a warm smile, studying Tony in the process. He chuckled and continued studying him.

"Yeah." He softly replied, looking at the file again.

"Yeah" Tony whispered, still smiling before making a pensive face and making a clicking noise with his mouth. He quietly sighed and nodded towards the screen.

"So what was that about? With Dunham." Tony curiously asked. He knew that Gibbs would try to be as evasive as he could be, so he studied his face, noticing for a split second that there was uneasiness in his expression.

"Tracking terrorist training camps in the Sahara Desert." Of course he had to be vague. A creeping suspicion came into Tony's head.

_Maybe it really is Ziva…but does Gibbs know? _Tony wondered. He just continued studying Gibbs, Gibbs not making eye contact as he read the file.

"And the woman you were talking about, the captive, uh, any theory who she is?" Tony asked, wanting to get more details and rule out Ziva being the captive. Who knows what they are doing to her there. She could be beaten, raped, even killed. He was hoping that Gibbs would calm his fears, but he only continued to be vague.

"Dunham says that Mossad presence has increased in North Africa." Gibbs informed Tony, looking up from the file in his hands and at his Senior Agent.

"Prepping an offensive?" Tony asked, trying to figure things out.

"Or course correction cleaning up a failure." Gibbs quickly added.

"What kind of failure?" Tony was looking at Gibbs suspiciously, he felt that Gibbs was holding back. It didn't look like Gibbs was going to be saying anymore though.

"The kind with casualties." Gibbs' stare never faltering or moving from Tony's face.

"Is that all you know?" Tony was going to pick and poke around until he got answers. His face scrunched up in confusion and he began thinking of all the possibilities. If Ziva really was the captive, what would they do? If she isn't even there, then why is Gibbs bothering? Surely he must suspect something. His gut is telling him something, and he's holding back. But why?

Gibbs didn't respond to Tony's question, instead he kept looking at his agent, a small, apologetic smile on his face as he looked away.

"That's all you can tell me. I got it." Tony stated and sighed quickly. "Alright. You know the Arabic word for desert is sahara, so sahara desert is actually desert desert. A lot of sand." Tony rambled on as he walked out of MTAC, leaving Gibbs sitting in the chair.

Tons of thoughts and probabilities were floating around in Tony's head. He decided he was going to do research, dig up more info. And if he had to, he'd involve McGee, and maybe Abby if they really needed her.

* * *

Tony decided to go out to dinner with McGee, he needed some time out, but his thoughts kept going back to Ziva. He didn't hear anything McGee was saying, well he did, but he wasn't processing them or paying much attention, his focus still on Ziva and what Gibbs was talking to Chad about.

"Doc pulled the plug on my Demarko interview." McGee told Tony. "Said the um, strain was too much for his weakened heart."

Tony was just sitting there, not even eating.

"Yep." He said half-heartedly. His thoughts were a mess right now. He was starting to get concerned, worried, and suspicious.

"Gibbs signed off on the new girl Rebekah Hastings. She seems like a pistol. Or a firecracker. Maybe a spitfire." McGee continued.

Tony just sat there. Everything McGee said going in one ear and out the other. He finally stood up and walked to the car.

_Maybe it's time to bring it up to McGee. Fill him in on my suspicions. But maybe I'm paranoid, or obsessed. I can't let him think I'm obsessed with her. But I haven't even brought up her name since…I don't even remember._

McGee followed him to the car, having paid for the both of them, but Tony hadn't noticed.

"I've been thinking about buying some tight red leather pants. You know something that really cradles my butt." McGee said.

"It's not normal." Tony finally spoke up.

"I'm kidding, I'm not really gonna buy…"

Tony cut McGee off. "It's not normal that we haven't heard from Ziva. I mean nothing. Not in this much time, it's not normal." Tony's face was scrunched up. He was obviously confused, but he also felt pain and hurt. He felt that he was guilty for it all, and if something were wrong, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

"Maybe she just wants to make a clean break of it." McGee reasoned.

"Well, maybe from some of us, but not all of us." Tony replied, pulling out his keys and pushing the alarm button, the car beeping as he did so. "Unless you did something to her you're not telling me about."

McGee just looked at him, an exasperated look on his face. Tony could see the inner struggle. It's the same one he was having.

"It's not normal." Tony clasped his hands together and leaned on the car.

McGee copied Tony's stance and started thinking. Tony knew that he had McGee here, and he wanted to get him to help research and do some digging. He was after all, the computer geek.

"No, it's not." He finally replied.

"Thank you." Tony separated his hands and left them in the air, quickly pulling them back together.

"What if she can't contact us? Huh?" Tony looked behind him, then back at McGee. "What if something's stopping her?"

"Or someone?" McGee questioned, finally going along with Tony. Tony was sighing inwardly, knowing that at least one other person felt the same way he was. This was weird and definitely not normal. He had to find out what was going on…before it was too late.

"Yeah." Tony quietly agreed with McGee, trying to keep the worry out of his voice, but failing. "I'm not the only one thinking this, am I?"

"No." McGee answered.

"And you know Gibbs is thinking about it too, he's not talking about it, but he's definitely sniffing around." Tony told McGee.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"Everything I can. I'm gonna start digging." Tony told McGee, getting a determined look on his face.

"Well you can't do it alone." McGee said defeated. Tony quietly rejoiced, knowing he pulled his teammate into this. They were going to find Ziva, and if necessary, save her.

"You gonna stop me?" He asked, just to make sure McGee was going to help. They both had their doors open, ready to get into the car, but paused waiting for the other to answer.

"That's not what I said." McGee replied as he got in the car.

Tony just stood there, a triumphant grin on his face as he watched McGee get into the car. He waited a minute before also getting in the car and starting it up. The two quietly thinking about Ziva and what they were going to do about the whole situation.

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**There you have it! What did you think? Leave your wonderful reviews! :D **


	13. July McGee

**Yay! Next chapter up! It's getting closer and closer to them finding out what's going on with Ziva! :O Thanks to all you readers for keeping me encouraged to keep this story going! I really do appreciate your reviews and the fact that you find my story even a tad interesting really just blows me away! So now for the next chapter! Let me know what you think!**

**I want to own NCIS...maybe someday...in my dreams...maybe someone can pull an inception and make them hand over NCIS to me...haha! Yeah right! In my dreams! lol

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McGee was running late today. He decided to stop and get a coffee for him and Tony, but ended up staying in line longer than expected. He noticed that people really love their coffee in the mornings. He sighed as he waited in line, finally getting to the front, ordering, and waiting some more. When his order was ready he quickly picked them up and rushed to NCIS.

Tony was already there when he arrived.

_I must be really late, Tony's here before me._ McGee thought.

McGee handed Tony a coffee and walked to his desk, sitting down as he heard Tony speak.

"Thanks Probie." Tony loudly thanked him before taking a sip. "What's in the schedule for today?"

"Well you have the new trainee today. She should be here soon." McGee responded, his eyes never leaving his computer.

"Why can't you handle it?" Tony whined, walking to McGee's desk and leaning over his shoulder.

"Because you wanted to be in charge. Remember?"

"But that was before. This is now. Now is different. Come on McProbster. Time to be a man. Grow up. Live large." Tony was rambling when Gibbs came down, barking orders.

"McGee! Interview the Petty Officer. Tony! Go train the trainee!" Gibbs left no time for a response, quickly heading to MTAC.

McGee smirked and raised his eyebrow at Tony, who reciprocated with a growl and a glare.

"You got lucky this time McGeek." Tony quickly walked to the elevator where the trainee was waiting.

McGee watched as Tony interacted with the trainee, he forgot what her name was…Rebekah maybe?

He shrugged and grabbed the file so he could head to the interrogation room to interview the Petty Officer. He wanted to crack the guy, but knew that he was the one to soften him up for Gibbs.

He headed to the interrogation rooms and opened the door, finding the Petty Officer sitting at the table nervously. He pulled out the chair and sat down across from him, reading the file in his hands, leaving time for the Officer to squirm.

"Petty Officer, I know that physically you've been through quite and ordeal these past few months. We're hoping you can tell us where the drugs came from." McGee finished writing in the file and looked up at the Officer who was slightly shaking.

"Well I wouldn't know what they looked like sir. I mean I don't take drugs. Someone must've slipped 'em in my orange juice."

Why would they do that?" McGee asked, looking at the Officer confused.

"Isn't that how you take 'em?" the Petty Officer asked.

"Where'd you see that?" McGee tried not to shake his head. This guy wasn't very bright, or he was definitely hiding something. McGee was going for the latter.

"I think it was an episode of 90210." He stated.

_What? _McGee's mind was screaming at him. _This guy's an idiot!_

He continued with the interrogation, carefully taking notes, observing his body language, and watching his eyes for any sign of lying. McGee quickly closed the file.

"Alright, thank you. We'll keep in touch if we need anything else." McGee said as he stood up and left the room.

* * *

He sighed, knowing that this was going to be a harder case than he wanted. It had already been going on for months.

_If we had Ziva here, she'd crack him. She tends to do that a lot. Not that I'm complaining, but I miss it. I wonder how she's doing. She hasn't emailed me back or called me back. I hope she gets back to me soon, and gets over what Tony did, but I'm sure she wouldn't shut me out because of Tony. What if she's in trouble? No…no she can't be…_McGee's thoughts were overtaking him as he walked back to the bullpen and sat at his desk.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Tony come out of MTAC and walk down with a grim expression on his face.

"Probie, wanna grab something to eat? I'm starving!" Tony dramatically said. McGee looked up quickly and nodded.

"Yeah, let me just save this file and grab my things and we can go."

* * *

"Doc pulled the plug on my Demarko interview." McGee told Tony. "Said the um, strain was too much for his weakened heart."

Tony was just sitting there, not even eating. McGee was trying to keep a conversation going, but it was hard with Tony not paying attention. He seemed pensive and upset.

"Yep." Tony replied half-heartedly. McGee sighed inwardly, knowing exactly where his thoughts were, but wanting to avoid the subject. Tony and him were not emotional, nor did they spill their feelings to each other, but Ziva was a common interest, a common friend, and he knew that they'd get into a conversation about her eventually. Tony had been avoiding mentioning her name or even hinting anything about her for months, and McGee knew it was about time to get things out in the open.

"Gibbs signed off on the new girl Rebekah Hastings. She seems like a pistol. Or a firecracker. Maybe a spitfire." McGee continued.

Tony just sat there, McGee knew that everything he was saying was going in one ear and out the other. Tony was too lost in thought. McGee would be too, but he had to hold things together, dealing with Abby's emotional stuff was hard enough, but he knew that if he cracked too, the team would fall apart. Gibbs would get crankier, Tony would be a jerk, and Abby would constantly be in tears and worrying and rambling on and on about Ziva and how much she misses her.

McGee watched as Tony stood up, almost robotically, and walked to the car. He quickly pulled out a few bills and paid for their food. He followed Tony to the car, stopping at the curb where Tony was standing.

"I've been thinking about buying some tight red leather pants. You know something that really cradles my butt." McGee said trying to gain Tony's attention and get him to stop thinking about Ziva.

"It's not normal." Tony finally spoke up.

"I'm kidding, I'm not really gonna buy…"

Tony cut McGee off. "It's not normal that we haven't heard from Ziva. I mean nothing. Not in this much time, it's not normal." Tony's face was scrunched up. He was obviously confused, McGee noticed that much.

"Maybe she just wants to make a clean break of it." McGee reasoned.

"Well, maybe from some of us, but not all of us." Tony replied, pulling out his keys and pushing the alarm button, the car beeping as he did so. "Unless you did something to her you're not telling me about."

McGee just looked at him, an exasperated look on his face. He knew that he didn't do anything to her, she liked him, they were friends. But Tony was right, something's not right. And he had been thinking about it too. With no response from her whatsoever, he began to get suspicious and worried.

"It's not normal." Tony clasped his hands together and leaned on the car.

McGee copied Tony's stance and started thinking. He knew Tony was right. Not normal. Those words kept repeating in his ears. He wanted to pretend that everything was ok, he hoped that everything was ok. But even Abby had voiced her opinions to him, subtly mentioning that she still hadn't heard from Ziva.

"No, it's not." He finally replied.

"Thank you." Tony separated his hands and left them in the air, quickly pulling them back together.

"What if she can't contact us? Huh?" Tony looked behind him, then back at McGee. "What if something's stopping her?"

"Or someone?" McGee questioned, finally going along with Tony. He figured he should hear Tony's side, or at least see how much his thoughts coincided with his own.

"Yeah." Tony quietly agreed with McGee. "I'm not the only one thinking this, am I?"

McGee sighed quietly. He looked up at Tony and saw that look again, he couldn't quite describe it, but he would always see it when he knew that Tony was thinking about her. He had a creeping suspicion that there was more than what was said and seen between the two.

"No." McGee answered.

"And you know Gibbs is thinking about it too, he's not talking about it, but he's definitely sniffing around." Tony told McGee. McGee knew that Gibbs was too, he had never actually seen him sniffing around or researching, but he could see it in his eyes. Gibbs was usually quite unreadable, but this, McGee could definitely see that Gibbs was concerned and determined to find more out.

"So what are you going to do about it?" He asked Tony.

"Everything I can. I'm gonna start digging." Tony told McGee, getting a determined look on his face.

"Well you can't do it alone." McGee said defeated, he actually really wanted to help, but he didn't want to be the one to start everything. He knew Tony would take the lead, and now that he finally did, McGee was more than willing to follow and help. Anything for Ziva and getting her back. He missed her so much, and he could tell the whole team also missed her. This was his chance to be a hero, alongside Tony, and bring back a loved one.

"You gonna stop me?" Tony asked defensively.

"That's not what I said." McGee replied as he got in the car.

He sat in the car for a minute waiting for Tony. He could just picture the triumphant smirk and rolled his eyes. He wasn't just doing it for Tony, but for Ziva, himself, and the team. The team needed their assassin back. Yes, they all missed her and he knew it, now it was time to find out where she is and what's going on.

McGee smiled and nodded his head, knowing this would be good. They can figure this out.

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**So what do you think? Things are finally coming together huh? I am using Truth or Consequences as my foundation here, and getting most of the dialogue from there, I add my own sometimes and the thoughts are all mine, but now things are going to become clearer to the team! *gasp* how exciting! :D Please leave your lovely reviews! I do read them, but don't really respond...if you want me to I will though!**


	14. July Abby

**This is a much shorter chapter than usual, but as things are coming together, I didn't really find it necessary to get too into Abby for this chapter. I'll be leaving for NY for a vacation, so I probably won't update for a while, but when I get back be prepared to get into all the details that the team found out! Until next time, read and review!**

**Thanks for all who review and read, I greatly appreciate it! :D**

**No I don't own NCIS...wish I did though...

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Abby had been restless all day. She was getting tired of this long case, and she was frustrated that they didn't have more answers.

Along with the case, her anxiety was also based on Ziva. She still hadn't heard from her and it was driving her crazy. Ziva loved her, and they were good friends. She didn't understand why she wasn't responding.

Thinking about Ziva's absence and sudden disappearance off the face of the earth, she started to wonder just what exactly the truth is behind her vanishing act.

She thought that Vance knew something but wasn't telling them.

_Something's wrong. I just know it. And I'm going to figure out what happened to Ziva and where she is. I know everyone else is thinking it too, but what if she's hurt? NO! Positive thoughts, positive thoughts._ Abby began thinking.

She quickly ran to her computer and sighed, she knew she had to start looking stuff up in order to gather all the information she needed. She quickly typed in Ziva's name and clicked on links that said Confidential. She knew she would have to hack into Mossad, but decided to wait for that. If she needed to, she would. She needed McGee's help with it too. She just decided it was time to start snooping around and digging up dirt.

An hour had gone by and she still hadn't found anything. She was getting bored and lonely. She wanted to talk to Gibbs, to try to get something out of him, but when she called him he had said he was busy and he'd come down later.

She tried to get a hold of Tony and McGee, but they both wouldn't answer their phones. Abby got frustrated and slumped down in her chair. She wanted nothing more than to find her friend and make sure she was alright.

And after that she would give her a long talk about ignoring her friends and blaming Tony. Ziva couldn't just do that to them, to Tony.

Abby smiled, she could sense the sexual tension between the two and had her suspicions about them. They would get jealous of each other's dates and often question each other about their love lives.

She sighed, _poor Tony. He's probably taking this hard. He won't even talk about her. I mean I can understand hating to be reminded of her everyday, I am…but not even wanting to bring up the subject of her is ridiculous. He must really be hurting. _Abby was too lost in her thoughts to hear McGee come into the lab.

"Abby?" McGee quietly called her name, not wanting to scare her.

"Timmy! What is this pleasant visit for?" Abby smiled at him and happily skipped to where he was standing.

"Um, I was just checking up on you, Tony is being boring, and Gibbs is in MTAC."

"Why's Tony being boring? Tony's never boring. What happened?" Abby quickly asked, a frown forming on her face.

"I don't know. He came out of MTAC looking weird and pensive." McGee shrugged.

"What? Go talk to him! He didn't find anything out about Ziva did he?" Abby's talking quickly became faster and McGee had to keep himself from getting lost.

"Abby, I'll go talk to him, but I doubt he found out anything about Ziva." McGee sighed and turned to leave.

"Thank you Timmy." Abby smiled softly and kissed his cheek.

As soon as McGee left Abby frowned. If Tony was acting strange and Gibbs was stuck in MTAC, there definitely was some kind of lead or news on Ziva. She was determined to figure things out. She quickly turned back to her computer and began typing furiously, hoping to get some answers.

_I'm doing this for you Ziva._ Abby thought, determined.

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**So there you have Abby...this chapter is more of an opener for what's to come...sorry it's short, but I wanted to get something out before I left, and this seemed a good place to stop. Review please!**


	15. July Ziva

**Sorry for the long wait in updates, but I was on vacation for a week and I have been too tired to update, but here is a chapter, it's shorter, I totally forgot about Ziva and remembered that she needed to be written. So I wrote this...just a small filler before all the action happens. Hope you like it...read and review!

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There was a pregnant silence in the dark room Ziva was kept in. She refused to make any noise or even cry. She didn't want to give Saleem and his men that satisfaction.

She didn't know how long she had been kept in this room, in fact she chose to not keep track. If no one came to get her now, then no one ever will. She had lost all hope.

Ziva heard footsteps coming to the room and she shivered. She knew what was going to happen, it was a daily routine. A different man would come in each day and touch her, do things to her, hit her, and leave her bleeding, sometimes even unconscious. And after each time, she would feel so dirty and filthy that she just wanted to die right then and there.

Silently she would say a prayer, hoping that by some miracle she would be saved, or this was just a really long, really bad nightmare and she would wake up with her team around her. But she knew better than that, she knew better than to hope for someone to save her, or even look for her. She knew that her father wouldn't be looking for her, it was too risky.

Deep down Ziva hoped that Gibbs was looking for her. If anyone in the world were looking for her it would be him and the team. Tony, McGee, Abby, they'd all be looking for her, but for all she knew they could think she is having a great time working with her father, for Mossad, again.

Ziva felt tears streaming down her face as she heard the door open, she knew what was coming so she just closed her eyes and let her mind wander to other things. Things that made her happy, things that wouldn't allow her to think about what was going on now.

All she could think about are the apologies she would make to the team when or if she ever saw them again. As the man grabbed her, she wished she were dead. She was being wronged and it was all done against her will.

"I'm sorry." She whispered so quietly that even she could barely hear herself.

She wanted nothing more than to be saved, little did she know that back at NCIS her team, her family, was trying to find her.

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**There you have it! I know it's a little harder to read, it was hard to write too, but I really do think that while she was captured that did things to her, and that's why she's so reluctant to tell of what happened. So again, review!**


	16. August Abby

**Alright guys! Here is where the action starts...I really find Abby harder to write, I'd much rather write Tony and Gibbs...and what they're thinking, but I promised to get the whole team, so here is Abby! Hope you like it and sorry for the long wait, but school started and it's just been crazy lately...anyways, read and review!**

**I don't own NCIS, I wish I did...then I wouldn't have to be going to school..haha.

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"I can't believe you were going to leave me out." Abby retorted as she looked at McGee and Denizen.

"It wasn't personal." Tony replied.

"Abby it was for your own benefit." McGee tried to calm her down, but she was angry. She knew that they would have left her out, but since she's the only one who can work with forensics, they needed her help.

She stood up and glared at them, putting her hands on her hips.

"So which was it?" She asked, looking from McGee then DiNozzo. She was glad that she could put some kind of fear in them. When they didn't answer she walked past them and moved to her closest machine. She then quickly walked to her little office and back out, raising her hand up and walking between them. She figured ignoring them was the best way to get them to talk.

"It was hubris, you know, McGee thought we could do it without you and he was wrong, he was so wrong." Tony told her and Abby slammed her filing cabinet shut.

"No! No, no! Abby! Abby, I was the one who wanted to enlist your help." McGee reasoned.

"Can we get past this?" Tony asked.

"Please." Abby finally spoke up and motioned with her hands for them to explain. She still couldn't believe they weren't going to tell her what they were up to, it infuriated her.

"We've been tracking Ziva's movements as best as we can." McGee filled her in.

"Since when?" Abby asked, rushing to her computer. Finally they were getting somewhere. It was about time they looked into Ziva's sudden disappearance of off the planet.

"Since she stayed in Israel."

"And tool Rivkin's place on the Kidon unit." Abby continued on receiving two curious stares from the men. "I've been doing the same thing." Abby told them, holding her arms wide and walking backwards.

"I mean it's weird that Ziva hasn't contacted me. It'd be on thing if she just had't picked up the phone and called me, but I'm trying to reach her several different ways." Abby rambled on, trying to figure things out and maybe get more info from the two men who were stupid enough to try to leave her out.

"Psychics, crystals, or telepathy." Tony joked.

Abby angrily pointed at him. "No jokes. Ok." Tony made a face mixed with fear and humor.

"Ziva is universally absent, it's freaking me out." Abby continued, moving past Tony's immaturity at this extremely important problem.

"Alright, let's compare notes here. We've got NCIS at the ground in Dubai trying to figure out what Mossad is up to." McGee said.

"While Mossad is trying to figure out what some terrorist is doing." Tony continued.

"And somewhere in the middle of this is Ziva." Abby made a circle with her hands and walked to the table where the other two were standing.

"We know that Gibbs knows that the Director knows more than he's letting on." Tony said, moving next to McGee as they all faced the computer on Abby's desk.

"And no one's telling us anything." Abby said suspiciously. "So we have two options." She said matter of factly.

"And they're both illegal." McGee replied. "Hack into Mossad."

"Or hack into Vance." Abby said, excitement in her voice.

"Oh that's it." A voice from behind rang out and the three of them turned around. "I'm out of here. I'm done."

The three of them watched as the lady left, not really caring that she was leaving or not.

"So much for the daredevil." McGee raised his eyebrows.

"I forgot about her." Tony replied.

"Whatever. Let's get hacking." Abby replied, caring less about the lady that just walked out and more about Ziva.

Abby started typing and got to work, Tony excused himself, letting them do their thing. McGee was looking over her shoulder, which was irritating her, so she huffed and turned around.

"McGee. Go do something. I can't work with you looking over my shoulder. Go on! Go!" Abby shoved him out of her lab and sighed before turning around and going back to her computer, ready to find out more about Ziva.

* * *

A few hours later McGee came back down, and Abby let him stay, so long as he didn't hover.

"Oh my God, oh my God. It's the goat." Abby informed him, with a duh in her voice.

"The goat." McGee looked at the screen in understanding.

"Sounds like you guys found something." Tony said, walking into the lab and over to where they were standing.

"We're the two zuzim. Gibbs is our father, and he used us to buy the goat. It all makes sense now." Abby explained as if they both, well Tony, could understand what she was saying.

"Sure." Tony replied sarcastically.

"We accessed Mossad's encrypted files. They weren't in English so we had to do a little rudimentary linguistics. Hit the Hebrew school nursery rhymes." McGee explained.

"Chad Gaya Tony. Chad Gaya. One little goat that my father bought for two zuzim." Abby told him and clicked the computer so the song began to play. She started dancing to it while McGee continued to explain to Tony.

"It was originally an Aramaic children nursery rhyme. Actually the way it goes, there's a part with God, an Angel of Death, and…killing…"

"That killed the butcher." Abby started singing.

"Killed the butcher." McGee repeated.

"That slew the ox, That drank the water, that quenched the fire, that burnt the stick, that beat the dog, that bit the cat, that ate the goat, which my father bought for two zuzim. Chad Gaya, chad gaya." Abby and McGee sung. Tony tried to speak, but Abby held up her finger until the song was over so they could finish the song. Abby grinned as the song ended and stared at Tony.

Tony just stared at them an unimpressed and confused look on his face. He grunted. "So what's the goat?" He asked.

"The goat's the information that McGee and I recovered from the burnt laptop in Ziva's apartment." Abby quickly told him.

"With the location of a camp in North Africa run by a man named Saleem Oman." McGee continued.

"We gave it to Gibbs, Gibbs gave it to Vance, Vance gave it to Eli David, who read it and then he put Ziva and a team on a Jordanian freighter called the Damacles." Abby started talking faster and more excitedly.

"Out of Aqaba." Realization hit Tony as Abby filled him with all this information. She grinned.

"Uh yeah, bound for the horn of Africa." McGee looked at Abby who smiled at him and turned to Tony, surprised that Tony knew what he was talking about.

"You have a manafest?" Tony asked curiously.

"It's a cargo ship. Could be a direct supply line to Saleem." Abby told him.

"Where is it now?" Tony asked. Abby knew that Tony wanted answers just as much as she did.

"Don't know." McGee answered and both he and Abby frowned.

"Find it." Tony demanded.

"We tried. There's no record of it appearing anywhere through May." McGee exasperatedly told him.

"Why not?" Tony asked and turned to Abby and McGee.

"Cuz it was lost at sea." Gibbs walked into the lab and informed them. "Damacles went down in a storm, twenty-eighth of May. Off the coast of Somalia." Everyone listened as Gibbs told them the news. They were speechless. Abby was speechless. If that were true then that must mean….

"There were no survivors." Gibbs finally told them. All of them just stared at Gibbs, speechless and their worst fears coming true. Abby was really trying to keep her composure, she didn't want to let this mean anything. They could be wrong. Abby learned to stay positive.

* * *

The next few days went by in a blur. Abby was trying to keep her emotions under control, but she just had to talk to someone. Gibbs was busy and as much as she wanted to talk to him about this, she knew there was only one person who was feeling like she was, Tony.

When she went to talk to him, he just stared at her, as if her words went in one ear and out the other. It was rather frustrating to her, but she knew that hearing that Ziva was dead was just as hard on him as it was on her. She sighed inwardly, thanked Tony, and went back to the lab.

* * *

A few days later, Tony approached her about making a case to go stop Saleem from killing more innocent people. She eagerly jumped at the opportunity, knowing that if she could catch him and avenge Ziva, she would. She began doing research for Tony, pushing all negative and sad thoughts aside until she could finish her job.

Abby gathered all her information and called Tony down, filling him in on everything. Once they both knew everything, they decided to call McGee down and fill him in, making sure that every detail was known to all of them.

Finally, with a sigh of relief, all three of them nodded to each other, silently saying they are ready to get this show on the road. Abby called Gibbs and told him to get Vance and meet them in MTAC.

"It's a supply chain." Tony said as the screen changed to show what he just said. Abby was sitting at the computer, watching him and keeping her eye on the computer.

"Everything moving through the area, by ship, by truck, by camel, by donkey. Everything Saleem and his men need to stay alive somewhere in the desert."

"NCIS on the ground in Africa has tried to track common elements." McGee said, nodding to Abby who quickly turned to her computer.

"Like weapons, medical supplies, car parts, gasoline, food, drinks…" Abby listed and trailed off as McGee continued.

"We have narrowed in on items of a more personal nature. Various batteries, electronics, and music and entertainment." McGee continued while Abby listened intently, a small smirk on her face. She was hoping that all this information would get them to Somalia. If anything, they had to capture Saleem and make him pay for what he did.

"Because they are human after all. This is the manifest from the lost cargo ship Damocles. We know it was heading for Saleem's camp, and it contains the sypher to breaking our code." Tony explained to Gibbs and Vance as they listened intently.

"And have you?" Vance asked.

"We believe we have." McGee sighed and informed him.

Abby was close to grinning, this was amazing to her. Who knew an addiction could help them track this guy?

"We've isolated the needle in the haystack. An anomaly, one specific characteristic." Abby told them, wanting to build up the suspense.

"A brand name for import not easily attained in Europe or Africa." McGee continued.

"Got it all the way from the United States. At high cost. High difficulty." Tony finished for McGee.

"What are we talking about?" Vance asked.

Abby turned and grabbed her Caf-Pow, holding it up to them. "Tada!" She sipped from it, and grinned. They had him, and they all knew it. Abby had never been more proud of her work.

Knowing that Saleem could be tracked down all because if a caffeine addiction. An addiction they shared, one that was easily traceable due to the difficulty in obtaining it. Caf-Pow was an American drink, a drink that would take lots of pulling of strings in order to get, now they had him and they could avenge Ziva!

* * *

**So now the team knows what happened...well sorta...haha. Now it's time for business! Soon they will be in Somalia rescuing Ziva, but not before we get to see what they were thinking! Review please! They make me happy and encourage me to write more!**


	17. August Ziva

**It's been a while since I've updated, but school has been busy and life has been...well life...but I did manage to throw out a chapter for you. It's Ziva, so it's a shorter chapter...but I promise I will get a longer chapter up soon...hopefully Tony or Gibbs will be next...we'll see. But I don't have time and I'm writing two stories at once, which does tend to get overwhelming...anyways, read on! And leave your lovely reviews! OMG TUESDAY IS THE SEASON PREMIERE! I CAN'T WAIT! AHHHHHH!**

**I don't own NCIS...*sigh*...I wish I did though...cuz then Tony and Ziva would be together! HAHA!**

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Ziva was barely alive. She was surprised she lasted so long. She lost track of days a long time ago, not even bothering to find out. She was getting what she deserved. She deserved this for all the people she assassinated. She deserved this for hurting Tony and Gibbs. For hurting the team.

Her betrayal was one of the biggest things she did to hurt anyone and now she was paying for it. If she ever got out alive, she would be sure to get over herself. If she ever got out alive she would talk to Tony. She would tell him that she did trust him. She would talk to Gibbs and McGee. She needed Gibbs to know that he was the closest thing she had to a father and that she did indeed care for him.

McGee was there for her and he always supported her. She needed him to know that all his support and encouraging words were well taken and meant a lot to her. And Abby. Abby was her friend, her first real girl friend. She had let Abby down and betrayed her too. She left without so much as a goodbye. Now she was paying for that.

Men were beating her, touching her, doing horrible things to her that made her feel disgusting and worthless. She wanted to get out of her personal living hell, but she had high doubts that it would ever happen.

_All I want is for Tony to come crashing through those doors to save me. But that's too risky. He can't risk his life for me. I hurt him and that was evident on his face. I don't deserve to be saved. _She thought as she heard footsteps outside her room.

She knew what was coming. It always happened at this time of the day…or was it night? She didn't know. She only knew that it was the same time every day. She whimpered in anticipation. She hated feeling this way. For once she wanted to be the girl who gets rescued by her prince. Like in the movies. But after living through what she has, her view on life and the world has changed so drastically.

Happy endings were made for movies. Love is a fantasy. And life is something that shouldn't be taken for granted. Especially life with friends who so obviously care for you and love you.

As she went through the daily routine of being beaten, verbally abused, and sexually abused, she cried herself to sleep. She thought of where she could be right now and wondered what her team was doing. But as the thoughts of the team came rushing through her head, she couldn't help but think of Tony.

His handsome face and charming smile took over her thoughts and she sobbed, knowing that she could have ruined the best thing in her life. She lost something amazing and it was all her fault. This was her penance, and she was going to live, or die with it.

_I can't hold on much longer…_were her last thoughts as she let unconsciousness take over her.


	18. August Gibbs

**I know it's been a while since my last update...life gets busy and I got distracted with my Inception fanfic...but here is the next update! After I finish this story I might do oneshots on certain episodes based on what Tony and Ziva were thinking...so anyways, hope you like this chapter! **

**OMG what do you guys think of the new season! AMAZING! And this week's episode! OMG too much beating around the bush, Tony and Ziva just need to get together already! Haha...**

**I don't own NCIS, I wish I did...but I enjoy watching it...hehe

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"Like I told you last time, Sir. Someone must have slipped the drugs to me." The Petty Officer sighed and told Gibbs.

"Hmm." Gibbs nodded, "Lot's of enemies on board?"

The Petty Officer looked off to the side and thought for a minute. "No Sir."

"So, it's the opposite then, lots of friends." Gibbs smiled, wanting to get the truth out of him.

"Yes Sir."

Gibbs continued to ask questions, noticing that the Petty Officer began to become more and more tense. He knew he was cracking this guy. Finally he decided to stand up and tell the story, hopefully he would finally confess.

"After the first dose, your own rotten stash. You dosed yourself to draw suspicion away from the fact that you're the pusher!" Gibbs stood up and walked around him, his voice raised.

"We just wanted to get high. I didn't mean for Kevin to end up dead. You gotta believe me Sir, I'm sorry."

Gibbs mumbled something to him, grabbed the file, and walked out, closing the door behind him and turning to look at Tony before walking off.

* * *

Gibbs wasn't surprised to hear his team talking about Ziva. In fact, he was surprised that it took them this long to start looking into her disappearance. Unfortunately he already knew things that they didn't know.

He walked into Abby's lab quietly, hearing Tony order McGee and Abby to find the Damacles.

"Find it." Tony demanded.

"We tried. There's no record of it appearing anywhere through May." McGee exasperatedly told him.

"Why not?" Tony asked and turned to Abby and McGee.

"Cuz it was lost at sea." Gibbs walked into the lab and informed them. "Damacles went down in a storm, twenty-eighth of May. Off the coast of Somalia." Everyone listened as Gibbs told them the news. They were speechless. Gibbs felt a pang in his chest, knowing that this was hard for not only them, but also for him.

"There were no survivors." Gibbs finally told them. All of them just stared at Gibbs, speechless and their worst fears coming true. He wished it weren't true, Ziva was gone and it was his fault. If he hadn't left her there, maybe she would still be alive. But now she's gone and there's nothing he could do about it.

Gibbs walked out, not wanting to have to stand in the piercing silence. It was already painful enough for him to have to tell his team, but he couldn't handle thinking about Ziva anymore. He needed a distraction.

* * *

Gibbs watched Tony over the next couple of days. It was as if he was a robot. Tony wasn't registering things and he ignored a lot of what was told to him. He didn't even crack jokes. Gibbs sighed every time he had to watch his Senior Agent. He knew that this would be hard on him.

_I told him not to break rule number twelve!_ He thought, frustrated.

"Grab your gear." Gibbs told the team as he walked into the bullpen the next day.

"No. No" Tony stood up tall and shook his head.

Everyone stopped and looked at Tony. Gibbs walked around his desk and into the middle of the bullpen. He smirked and raised his eyebrows.

"No?"

A look of fear came across Tony's face as Gibbs walked over to him. He took a breath and answered Gibbs.

"We have an obligation. Saleem Oman's gotta be stopped, before one more person dies."

Gibbs didn't fail to notice the look of pain that briefly showed on Tony's face as he told him what he thought.

"Make your case." Gibbs nodded. He knew that Tony was right, and he'd back him up all the way. He wanted to catch Saleem as much as anyone else did, and it hurt him that he lost Ziva just like he lost Kate.

His thoughts briefly flickered to that of his wife and daughter, but he pushed those thoughts away and hoped that Tony would take control of this mission.

* * *

A few days later Tony had Gibbs, Vance, and the team meet up in MTAC to show them what he had planned.

"It's a supply chain." Tony said as the screen changed to show what he just said. Abby was sitting at the computer, watching him and keeping her eye on the computer.

"Everything moving through the area, by ship, by truck, by camel, by donkey. Everything Saleem and his men need to stay alive somewhere in the desert."

"NCIS on the ground in Africa has tried to track common elements." McGee said, nodding to Abby who quickly turned to her computer.

"Like weapons, medical supplies, car parts, gasoline, food, drinks…" Abby listed and trailed off as McGee continued.

"We have narrowed in on items of a more personal nature. Various batteries, electronics, and music and entertainment." McGee continued while Abby listened.

"Because they are human after all. This is the manifest from the lost cargo ship Damocles. We know it was heading for Saleem's camp, and it contains the sypher to breaking our code." Tony explained to Gibbs and Vance as they listened intently.

"And have you?" Vance asked.

"We believe we have." McGee sighed and informed him.

"We've isolated the needle in the haystack. An anomaly, one specific characteristic." Abby told them, wanting to build up the suspense.

"A brand name for import not easily attained in Europe or Africa." McGee continued.

"Got it all the way from the United States. At high cost. High difficulty." Tony finished for McGee.

"What are we talking about?" Vance asked.

Abby turned and grabbed her Caf-Pow, holding it up to them. "Tada!" She sipped from it, and grinned.

Gibbs looked over his team's faces and could see the excitement and desire for vengeance. The look was one that he felt too, although he wasn't showing it, he would easily go and snipe this man without any warning. Saleem was responsible for Ziva's death, and he would pay.

They just needed another month and they would be ready, ready to get Saleem for good.

* * *

**Getting closer! :O Ziva will be saved soon enough! **


End file.
